More Than Most is headed to trainer Bret Calhoun’s division at Churchill Downs after establishing herself as a 3-year-old filly of note at Lone Star Park. She won her second straight stakes race of the season last Saturday night, when she defeated older rivals in the $50,000 Lane’s End Stallion Scholarship Stakes.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Javier Castellano will serve a three-day suspension starting Sunday for a careless-riding infraction in the second race on June 17.
Castellano was aboard Ethan Hunt, who tightened things up on Three to Thirteen entering the turn of a maiden special race for 2-year-olds. Three to Thirteen clipped heels and unseated jockey Eric Cancel.
Ethan Hunt finished third but was disqualified to last.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Upstart finished third in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap dominated by Frosted, and he is being pointed to another meeting with Frosted in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Whitney on Aug. 6 at Saratoga.
“It’ll be a salty race,” trainer Richard Violette said. “Frosted is Frosted, but if ever he’s going to react to a race, it might be in his next start.”
Frosted won the Met Mile by 14 1/4 lengths and earned a 123 Beyer Speed Figure. Upstart was beaten 15 1/4 lengths.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Preakness winner Exaggerator, who finished 11th in the Belmont Stakes, is in light training as his connections try to freshen him up for the second half of the year.
On Wednesday, Exaggerator jogged two miles on the Belmont training track, one day after he galloped over the main track. Exaggerator walked Sunday and Monday and is scheduled to have walk days Thursday and Friday before galloping again on Saturday.
ELMONT, N.Y. – By the Moon found herself in a tough spot to make her first start off an eight-month layoff when she ran fourth in the Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct in April. The top three finishers from that race – Paulassilverlining, Cavorting, and Bar of Gold – each came back to win a stakes in their next start. Cavorting actually won two stakes.
The Ohio Derby continues its rise back toward graded-stakes status Saturday with a solid field of 10 entered in the $500,000 race at Thistledown.
Heading the entries is Mo Tom, the GMB Racing-owned colt trained by Tom Amoss who exits a creditable eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Mo Tom, as has been the case nearly all season, found trouble in the Derby, losing momentum and ground when steadied on the far turn before coming home with decent energy.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Taris, who was held out of the $300,000 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday because of a sore foot, returned to racetrack training on Wednesday.
Trainer Simon Callaghan said Taris jogged at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old mare will be pointed for the $500,000 Ballerina Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 27. Callaghan said he had hoped to try Taris against males in the Grade 1 Triple Bend at seven furlongs until the mare missed training time this month.
ARCADIA, Calif. – For a brief time this week, Win the Space was without a jockey for Saturday’s Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.
Trainer George Papaprodromou had a commitment from Mike Smith, but when the Grade 1 winner Hoppertunity joined the field, Smith switched allegiances. Win the Space was not without a partner for long. Papaprodromou was quickly able to gain jockey Gary Stevens.
“It worked out,” Papaprodromou said. “We’re going from one Hall of Famer to another Hall of Famer. I had Gary for a second call.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A field of 11 fillies and mares will contest Friday’s $43,000 optional-claiming feature at five furlongs on turf at Gulfstream.
Light Our Way returned from a one-year layoff for trainer Wesley Ward to win a lower-level conditioned claimer here last month, setting a lightning-fast early pace and leading throughout.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Summit of Speed became an instant hit when it was inaugurated at Calder Race Course in 2000, and for many years it has served as the richest and most attractive option on the summer stakes schedule for the elite of the nation’s sprint division.
But times have changed. While the Smile Sprint and Princess Rooney continue to maintain Grade 2 status and are designated as Win and You’re In races for the Breeders’ Cup, trainers around the country now have many other lucrative options for key players in the division.
