BOSSIER CITY, La. – Uncle Brennie has run himself right into the Breeders’ Cup.
A strong performance Saturday in the $75,000 Sunday Silence Stakes at Louisiana Downs has led to the horse being pointed for the Grade 1, $1 million BC Juvenile Turf, said trainer Brad Cox. The one-mile race will be run Oct. 30 at Keeneland.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Colby Hernandez, who ranks third among jockeys in North America this year with 240 wins, was scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist Monday to determine how much time he will need to heal from a collarbone injury suffered Saturday.
Hernandez was aboard Raofthesun when the colt fell shortly past the wire after the 11th race.
The Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes, a pair of $1 million races that will be run Saturday at Parx Racing, each drew large, competitive fields when entries were taken Monday.
There are three other stakes on the Saturday card: the Grade 3, $300,000 Gallant Bob, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds; the $150,000 Bayern – named for last year’s Pennsylvania Derby winner – for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles; and the $100,000 Alphabet Soup for Pennsylvania-breds at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Bar of Gold, second to Cavorting in both the Grade 1 Test and Grade 2 Prioress stakes at Saratoga, will make her next start in the Grade 2, $250,000 Raven Run Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Oct. 18 at Keeneland, trainer John Kimmel said.
Though she is a New York-bred and would be tough in a race such as the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes on Oct. 24, Kimmel said the seven-furlong Raven Run gives his filly a chance to become a graded stakes winner.
ELMONT, N.Y. – One horse who definitely is targeting the Champagne Stakes is Tale of S’avall, a debut winner at Saratoga who worked five furlongs in 1:00.12 over the main track Monday.
“He’s a nice horse,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “He’s the best I got right now.”
Tale of S’avall, a son of Tale of Ekati owned and bred by Charles Fipke, won his debut by two lengths at Saratoga on Travers Day, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 81.
ELMONT, N.Y. – One horse who will not make the Champagne Stakes is Saratoga Mischief, the runner-up to Exaggerator in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 16.
Saratoga Mischief has an ankle chip that needs to be surgically removed, according to Randy Gullatt, farm/racing manager for Twin Creeks Racing, which owns the son of Harlan’s Holiday.
“Hopefully have him back before the Derby prep season begins,” Gullatt said in an e-mail.
The opening three days of the 11-day Churchill fall meet produced a handful of impressive performances by 2-year-olds making their career debuts, including Gun Runner and La Appassionata from the Steve Asmussen stable.
Gun Runner, a Candy Ride colt, won Friday going a mile for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, earning a 71 Beyer Speed Figure. La Appassionata, a Stonestreet Stables homebred filly by Bernardini, won Sunday at six furlongs, getting a 75 Beyer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For Kentucky horse trainers, there’s probably no busier time of year than this week. Not only are Churchill Downs and Kentucky Downs conducting race meets, but there are future prospects to be scouted and purchased at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice had big plans for Palace this year, including getting him to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint for a second consecutive year, but myriad issues have limited the multiple Grade 1 winner to just two starts in 2015, and it appears that time is running out to make the major fall sprint races.
Though Palace breezed five furlongs in 1:01.72 on Monday over Belmont Park’s training track, Rice didn’t seem to think he would be ready in time for the Grade 1 Vosburgh here Sept. 26.
East Hall will be coming off one of his strongest races of the year next month when he goes in the $75,000 Fort Loudon at Gulfstream Park. Trainer Bill Kaplan said Monday that the Oct. 3 race is the goal for the horse. East Hall earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92 on Saturday after he closed in the slop for an authoritative win in the $75,000 Sensitive Prince at Gulfstream.
“We’ll try to stay here and win another one,” said Kaplan, who trains East Hall for Jack Hendricks and Roger Justice.
