Wed, 07/06/2016 - 14:00

Vanity also-rans return to win stakes

Benoit & Associates
Lost Bus and jockey Fernando Perez win the Spring Fever Handicap by 2 1/2 lengths Monday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 Vanity Mile at Santa Anita on June 4 is turning out to be a productive race.

The champions Beholder and Stellar Wind were first and second in the five-runner field. The two not in the top three won stakes at Santa Anita over the holiday weekend.

Lost Bus, who finished fourth in the Vanity, won Monday’s $98,000 Spring Fever Handicap for California-bred fillies and mares at six furlongs. Divina Comedia, who finished last in the Vanity, won the $79,190 Southern Truce Stakes at a mile last Sunday.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 13:56

Right Hand Man can boost Bonde ahead of Del Mar

Shigeki Kikkawa
Right Hand Man will try to give trainer Jeff Bonde his first stakes win in more than a year.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The promising 2-year-old Right Hand Man tries to end a stakes drought for trainer Jeff Bonde in Saturday’s $125,000 Santa Anita Juvenile.

Bonde is winless in stakes since Distinctiv Passion won the Grade 3 Los Angeles Handicap at Santa Anita in May 2015. A win by Right Hand Man would boost Bonde’s stable days before he sends 25 horses to Del Mar for the track’s summer meeting, which begins July 15.

Bonde had seven stakes wins in Southern California in 2012, five in 2013, one in 2014, and two last year.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 13:40

O'Brien has two contenders each in Belmont Derby, Oaks

Kim Pratt
Camelot Kitten is one of four Chad Brown horses invited to the Belmont Derby.

ELMONT, N.Y. – They may not be the very best horses in his arsenal, but trainer Aidan O’Brien looks to have a strong hand in both the Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks, the pair of Grade 1 turf events that highlight Saturday’s Stars and Stripes card at Belmont Park.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 13:25

Closely knit riders Santana, Osorio split for summer

Coady Photography
Didiel Osorio, the leading rider at Ellis Park last summer, won four races on last Saturday's eight-race opening-day card.

Jockeys Ricardo Santana Jr., 23, and Didiel Osorio, 22, grew up in the same house in their native Panama. Although not in blood, they consider themselves to be brothers. Both rode at the Churchill meet and will now head their separate ways for the next eight weeks or so.

Osorio, the leading rider last summer at Ellis Park, already is off to a very quick start at the western Kentucky track, having won four of the eight opening-day races last Saturday.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 11:56

Churchill: Casse pulls off two remarkable feats

Churchill Downs/Coady Photography
Pretty City Dancer, winner of the Debutante at Churchill Downs, was among five stakes winners last weekend for trainer Mark Casse..

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s difficult to say which feat is more extraordinary: winning Churchill Downs training titles 28 years apart or winning five stakes in less than 24 hours.

Mark Casse pulled off both last weekend.

“I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Casse said this week after traveling from Toronto to his home in Ocala, Fla. “I truly appreciate how fortunate we are. We train for exceptional people who’ve given us exceptional horses.”

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 11:36

Nyquist, Exaggerator among invitees to Haskell

Barbara D. Livingston
Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is among the 20 initial invitees to the Haskell.

The first round of invitations to the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational have been mailed out, according to Bob Kulina, the president of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth Park on behalf of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

Kulina said he sent out 30 invitations. They went to virtually everyone he would want in the race, even Songbird, whose connections are not expected to accept.

“You make sure to invite everyone,” he said.

Kulina said that because the 3-year-old division is wide open this year, he expects a good-sized and competitive field.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 11:26

Ben's Cat rested and ready for Parx Dash

Barbara D. Livingston
Ben's Cat, winning the Jim McKay Sprint, runs in the Parx Dash for the sixth straight year.

Ben’s Cat began his 10-year-old season in style with two straight wins. But he was a little late to find his best stride in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup on June 4 at Penn National, and his rally fell 1 1/2 lengths short. Still, it was a pretty good try.

On Saturday, Ben’s Cat will face his toughest challenge of the year in the Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash. The 10-horse field includes Jaipur Stakes winner Pure Sensation, Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup winner Take Cover, Churchill Turf Sprint winner Rocket Heat, and the always-tough Power Alert.

Wed, 07/06/2016 - 11:26

Eighth Wonder faces major challenge in Delaware Oaks

Taylor Ejdys/Equi-Photo
Eighth Wonder must ship from her Parx base to Delaware Park for the Delaware Oaks.

The Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on Saturday is going to test Eighth Wonder on a number of levels. Not only will the $300,000 race be the toughest assignment of her career, but this will be the first time she has shipped from her home base of Parx Racing to run.

Eighth Wonder is talented but nervous, especially in the saddling paddock. She has crossed the finish line first in four of her five starts and was placed first in the Parx Oaks after Miss Inclusive was disqualified for a clenbuterol overage. Miss Inclusive also is entered in the Delaware Oaks.

Tue, 07/05/2016 - 17:27

Kinsley Kisses probable favorite among nine in Delaware Oaks

Taylor Ejdys/Equi-Photo
The 3-year-old filly Eighth Wonder wins her fourth race in five career starts under Jose Flores in the Jostle.

A field of nine has been entered for the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks on Saturday. The $300,000 race for 3-year-old fillies is the second-richest race of the meet, behind only the $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 16.

The Delaware Oaks card will be streamed live on DRF.com.

Tue, 07/05/2016 - 11:20

Churchill enjoys increase in betting during spring meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All-sources handle on Churchill Downs races this spring was up 3.8 percent over comparable 2015 dates, according to figures released Tuesday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Gross handle from all sources at the meet, which ended Saturday, was $392,200,551, up slightly over the $377.9 million wagered here last spring. The daily average was $10,321,067. Both the 2015 and 2016 meets ran 38 dates.