ELMONT, N.Y. – The last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Santa Anita, trainer Chad Brown won the Turf Sprint with Bobby’s Kitten, who was turning back in distance from a mile and trying the hillside turf course for the first time.
Brown will attempt to use that formula again this year with A Lot, a horse who last raced at a mile – finishing second in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga in August – and will be trying the 6 1/2 furlongs down the hill for the first time.
ELMONT, N.Y. – You know the end of turf season is around the corner when trainers are wheeling their horses back in three weeks to run in stakes.
Saturday’s $200,000 Pebbles Stakes at a mile on turf drew a field of 12, including Ancient Secret, Stella Rose, and Thundering Sky, all of whom are coming out of stakes races on Sept. 24.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Theory beat Reckling by 5 1/2 lengths in an $83,000 maiden race at Saratoga on July 30. Eleven weeks later, those two will meet again in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Futurity at Belmont Park.
Only three other horses were entered in the six-furlong Futurity, including Star Empire, third in the Arlington-Washington Futurity, who was supplemented to the race by trainer Wesley Ward for owner Belinda Bateman.
Moves Like Ali and The Walk were also entered. The Futurity will go as race 3 on Saturday’s nine-race card.
Karl Broberg, who leads all trainers in wins in North America in 2016, is branching out to Kentucky.
Broberg said he has some horses stabled at Churchill Downs for the first time. The group includes recent Remington Park winner Boom Bam Bing, one of the year’s winningest 3-year-olds. She is being pointed for the Grade 3, $100,000 Franklin County on Friday at Keeneland.
There are a number of logical reasons why Chocopologie is being penciled in for the Grade 2, $200,000 Fayette on Oct. 29 at Keeneland. And then there’s one that comes straight from the heart. “Dad won that race three times, so it’s kind of a sentimental choice for me,” said trainer Patrick Devereux Jr.
Devereux came up under his father, the late trainer Patrick Devereux Sr., who won the Fayette with Royal Harmony in 1969, 1970, and 1971.
MIAMI – Wednesday’s main event at Gulfstream Park West is a good one – a high-level optional-claiming race that lured a field of eight topped by Mr. Baker, J S Bach, and the graded stakes winner Singanothersong. But perhaps the most interesting horse on the card will compete one race earlier in a starter optional claimer.
The Grade 1-placed Mr. Online makes his first start in more than a year and his first since being transferred to the barn of trainer David Braddy this summer.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Gormley, the winner of the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, was given a fundamental lesson in a half-mile workout at Santa Anita on Monday.
A leading hopeful for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here on Nov. 5, Gormley worked in 49.60 seconds after starting behind stablemate Veneto, who was timed in 50 seconds.
“We went back to the basics,” trainer John Shirreffs said. “We worked him behind another horse. He stayed behind another horse as long as he could to get the experience of dirt in his face.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – With perfect weather and outstanding racing as catalysts, Keeneland established records for attendance and all-sources handle during the three days that opened the 17-day fall meet.
Total attendance for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was 66,437, surpassing the previous record of 62,454 set in 2006. All-sources handle for the three days was $34,038,462.
“Suffice it to say, an extraordinary start to the race meet,” said Bob Elliston, in his first meet as vice president of racing and sales for Keeneland.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tepin emerged from her upset loss in the First Lady here on Saturday in good shape and will begin training at Churchill Downs this week in an effort to get back to the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita in peak condition, according to Norman Casse, son of and assistant to trainer Mark Casse.
“She’s good,” said Norman Casse. “We’ll take her back to the track sometime this week and get her back into her routine. We’ll probably fly her out to California as late as we can.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Matching what only Wise Dan had done was remarkable enough. But considering that she was a filly running against males when she swept the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile and the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile in the same year, her feat is downright extraordinary.
No wonder Graham Motion got so choked up after Miss Temple City held on to win the $1 million Shadwell on Saturday at Keeneland.
“She’s pretty special to me,” Motion told NBC Sports.
