Fri, 09/23/2016 - 15:40

Upstart all set for Kelso Handicap

Barbara D. Livingston
Upstart worked from the gate on Friday in an attempt to teach him to break faster in his races.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Upstart, third to Frosted in both the Metropolitan Handicap and Whitney Stakes, worked four furlongs in 48 seconds Friday over the main track in preparation for the Grade 2, $350,000 Kelso at Belmont on Oct. 8.

Upstart got his last quarter in 23.39 seconds.

“He went off in 24 and change and came home in 23 and change,” said trainer Rick Violette. “Looked good doing it. I’ll end up doing another one similar next week. He’s dead fit; he’s been running all year. We just need to maintain where he is right now.”

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 15:36

Mubtaahij a bit under radar for Jockey Club Gold Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Mubtaahij (right) finishes second to Shaman Ghost in the Woodward Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With so much emphasis placed on Frosted’s third-place finish in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes, somewhat lost in the mix was the strong effort put in by stablemate Mubtaahij, who finished second, a head behind Shaman Ghost and a head in front of Frosted.

While trainer Kiaran McLaughlin awaits word from Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum on which race is next for Frosted, he knows that Mubtaahij is headed to the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 8.

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 14:52

Braddy collects 1,000th career win with impressive maiden winner

Coglianese Photos
David Braddy won his 1,000th career race with Fleming Cap on Thursday.

David Braddy is a man of few words, having let his training do his talking since he first took out his license at Calder in 1981. But Braddy was forced to say a little something at Gulfstream Park Thursday after his impressive maiden winner Flemish Cap gave him the 1,000th victory of his training career.

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 14:00

Beholder's latest breeze raises Mandella's confidence

Barbara D. Livingston
Beholder, shown training in June, looked good breezing six furlongs Friday at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – At a busy time for workouts at Santa Anita on Friday morning, one horse became a target for the three-time champion Beholder.

“When she started her work, there was a horse about 10 lengths or so in front of her,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “She just had to beat it.”

Ridden by jockey Gary Stevens, Beholder caught the unsuspecting rival toward the end of a six-furlong breeze in 1:12.80. The workout left Mandella enthused about Beholder’s chances in the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita next Saturday.

“It was fabulous,” Mandella said.

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 13:50

Three Rules, Cajun Delta Dawn scare off challengers

Leslie Martin/Coglianese Photos
Three Rules, unbeaten in four starts, will be heavily favored in next week's In Reality.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Despite purses raised to $500,000 apiece for the In Reality and My Dear Girl stakes next week, the dominance of undefeated division leaders Three Rules and Cajun Delta Dawn figures to severely limit the lineups for the final legs of the Florida Sire Series for 2-year-olds at Gulfstream Park.

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 10:20

Runhappy one work from return in Ack Ack

Barbara D. Livingston
Runhappy is on track to make his return to racing in the Oct. 1 Ack Ack.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Runhappy, the Eclipse Award-winning sprinter of 2015, is scheduled to have his final serious workout Sunday at Keeneland before his eagerly awaited comeback.

Trainer Laura Wohlers said Runhappy continues to progress at his home base at the Thoroughbred Center training facility in Lexington, Ky., just across town from Keeneland, and that the colt will be all set to return to the races next Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs.

Thu, 09/22/2016 - 16:04

Texas Chrome draws rail, faces 10 in Oklahoma Derby

Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
Texas Chrome, winner of the Grade 3 Super Derby, will look to add to his big year in Sunday's Oklahoma Derby.

Texas Chrome will break from the rail in the 11-horse Oklahoma Derby on Sunday at Remington Park. He will be seeking his second straight Grade 3 win, following the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.

Entries for the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby were taken Thursday. The 1 1/8-mile race is the richest of the meet and will be showcased on a card of 10 stakes. There will be a special first post of 3 p.m. Central.

Thu, 09/22/2016 - 15:51

Gulfstream demands proof that Kirk Ziadie isn't tied to father's horses

Officials at Gulfstream Park have told trainer Ralph Ziadie that he must provide “clear evidence” that his son Kirk, who has been banned from the track, does not have any financial ties to the horses Ralph currently trains, the chief operating officer of the track’s parent company said Thursday.

Wed, 09/21/2016 - 15:36

Texas Chrome key player in Caldwell's career year

Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
Texas Chrome, winner of the Grade 3 Super Derby, will look to add to his big year in Sunday's Oklahoma Derby.

Texas Chrome is not the only member of his stable coming into the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday in peak form. So is his trainer, J.R. Caldwell.

Caldwell, 41, leads all trainers in wins at the current Remington Park meet, and he has already set personal records for stable earnings and stakes wins in a year. His starters through Tuesday had won 47 races in 2016, for stable earnings of $1,365,856. Of his wins, seven have come in stakes.

Wed, 09/21/2016 - 15:06

Breeders' Cup Mile: Tepin will be hard to dethrone

Michael Burns
Tepin beat males in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last Saturday.

Tepin, Tepin, Tepin. And still more Tepin. You cannot talk about North American turf racing at the moment without the remarkable mare’s name coming up.

Tepin won the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Mile, and with nothing but wins on her form again this year, including an historic excursion to England, where she won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes in June, Tepin remains the leader of the BC Mile division as summer turns to autumn.