ELMONT, N.Y. - Oftentimes trainers are at a loss for words to explain why their horses ran poorly. Sunday morning, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was still trying to explain how Frosted ran so well in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap.
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DRF Past Performances
In winning all seven of her starts, Songbird never had to take dirt. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, aware that one afternoon Songbird might find herself behind horses, gave her a behind-horses education on Saturday morning at Santa Anita.
Songbird worked seven furlongs at 5:45 Pacific, breaking off five lengths behind her workmates, taking dirt, splitting her rivals, and rolling home in her final drill leading up to her comeback next Saturday in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks.
The Golden Pick 6 at Golden Gate Fields is now only one day away from a mandatory payout after there wasn’t a unique winning ticket again Friday.
The jackpot-style 20-cent wager returned $1,349.94 to multiple tickets that had all six winners Friday. That means there will be $1,331,966.72 to start the pool Saturday. The pool pays out only when a single ticket picks all six winners.
Golden Gate Fields is hoping for a mega carryover for Sunday, when there is a mandatory payout for the pool. Saturday’s six races average 10.33 runners.
The world’s richest active Thoroughbred posted another solid workout Saturday morning at Los Alamitos as he prepares for a July 23 comeback at Del Mar.
California Chrome, whose earnings soared past $12 million when he won the $10 million Dubai World Cup in his most recent start March 26, worked five furlongs Saturday under exercise rider Dihigi Gladney.
Trainer Art Sherman was happy after the 5:30 a.m. drill. “He had a perfect workout,” Sherman said. “He looked great, galloped out strong. He was really moving down the lane; he went the last three-eighths in 35 and change.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Apprentice rider Jose Barnes was not seriously injured Thursday at Santa Anita after being unseated soon after the start of race 5. Barnes, 20, was riding Esmeralda Belle, who stumbled after the break of the claiming sprint and pitched Barnes to the ground.
“I went flying over, her front legs jumped over me, and I was clipped by her hind leg,” Barnes said by phone Friday morning.
ARCADIA, Calif. – It turns out that trainer Richard Mandella had a reason not to discuss the summer campaign for Beholder until after the Vanity Stakes on June 4. It was because Mandella seriously considered bringing Beholder back three weeks later for the Grade 1 Gold Cup on June 25 at Santa Anita, but he first wanted to see how she came out of the Vanity.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – As the price reached $200,000 on Hip No. 194 at the 2014 Canadian premier yearling sale, trainer John LeBlanc Jr. could start to feel his heartbeat in his ears. He had been told by an ownership group that included breeder Paradox Farm, Mardon Stable, and Hugh Sutherland not to stop bidding on the horse until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Those were my instructions,” he said. “I tried to slow the bidding down, but the underbidders kept firing back really quickly.”
In the end, the bidding stopped at $325,000, and LeBlanc hadn’t felt a tap.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Songbird is all but confirmed for a comeback next Saturday in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Friday that the undefeated 3-year-old filly will have one final workout before he commits her to the 1 1/16-mile race.
“We’re looking at the Summertime Oaks, yes,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re going to have a breeze Saturday or Sunday, and we’ll go from there.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist stepped up his training Friday at Santa Anita, galloping for the first time since returning to California from Baltimore one week ago.
Nyquist, whose third-place finish in the Preakness Stakes was his first loss from nine starts, was declared out of the Belmont Stakes after coming down with an elevated white blood count and a high temperature days after the Preakness. The colt has since recovered, returned to Santa Anita on June 5, and had been jogging two miles daily until Friday, when he resumed galloping.
