LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Acapulco emerged in good order from her easy triumph in an overnight stakes Saturday at Churchill Downs and will ship soon to England, trainer Wesley Ward said Monday.
Acapulco had little trouble in winning the $65,000 Unbridled Sidney, a five-furlong race contested over a turf course that was rated firm but did have some give.
“She came back pretty tired, which is good,” said Ward. “I wanted her to get something out of it.”
Golden Gate Fields Golden Pick 6 jackpot wager will begin the race week Thursday with a base pool of $852,602, and is expected to top $900,000 before the first race of the sequence is run. The bet comprises races 2-7 on Thursday.
The jackpot on the 20-cent bet is paid out when there is a single bettor with all six winners. The bet has not been hit since Feb. 27.
When it is hit, it will set a track record for the wager, far surpassing the previous record payout of $363,424.68 on Feb. 20, 2015.
ARCADIA, Calif.-Songbird, the undefeated champion 2-year-old filly of 2015, is scheduled to have a workout at Santa Anita on May 22, her first since being sidelined with an illness in April.
Songbird has not raced since winning the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 9. Following that race, Songbird was diagnosed with a fever that prevented her from starting in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.
Owned by Rick Porter, Songbird galloped at Santa Anita on Sunday and has progressed well in training in recent weeks, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.
ARCADIA, Calif.- Melatonin, winner of the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap in March and the runner-up in the Oaklawn Handicap last month, will miss the $200,000 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita next Sunday.
Trainer David Hofmans said over that weekend that he plans to aim Melatonin to the $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 25. Hofmans said Melatonin has needed more time than expected to recover from the journey to Arkansas for the Oaklawn Handicap on April 16.
“The trip was a little tough on him,” Hofmans said. “He lost some weight. He’s doing well now.”
ARCADIA, Calif.- Arcature and I Will Score, stakes winners at Santa Anita on Saturday, are being strongly considered for stakes at Belmont Park in early June.
Arcature ($3.40) won his first stakes in the $78,345 Singletary Stakes at a mile on turf, holding off a late threat from Tristan’s Trilogy to win by a head.
Trainer Simon Callaghan said he is considering the $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Belmont Park on June 4, or the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on July 15.
Strike Charmer came out of her 9-1 upset victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay Stakes “real well” according to trainer Mark Hennig, who added that he would let Strike Charmer tell him when she’s ready to run again.
Hennig said the Grade 1, $700,000 Just a Game on June 11 would be considered but he also noted that the 6-year-old mare has “run two hard races in a row.”
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin on Sunday morning was still excited over Cavorting’s five-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian Stakes.
He was less excited over the prospects of pointing her to the Grade 1, $1 million Ogden Phipps, which figures to come up extremely strong with the likes of Grade 1 winners Curalina, Stopchargingmaria, Sheer Drama, and Forever Unbridled. Cavorting is also a Grade 1 winner, having taken the Test at Saratoga last summer.
Trainer Chad Brown and the ownership group of Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin’s Sheep Pond Partners, and the Bethlehem Stables of Gary Aisquith and Michael Caruso, could go for a Manhattan double with Wake Forest, winner of Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War.
Those connections won the Manhattan last year with Slumber, who also will be under consideration for this year’s Manhattan following his third-place finish in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 7.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Having passed his distance exam Saturday at Belmont Park, Unified will likely be tested around two turns for his next start, though the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 11 is not likely to be that spot, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said Sunday morning.
BALTIMORE - Kentucky Oaks runner-up Land Over Sea and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will be solid favorites in their respective legs of the Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness daily double this weekend at Pimlico. On Sunday morning, trainer Doug O'Neill let them both open up a bit in their training as they prepare to come back on two weeks' rest for the first time in their careers.
