SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement had John Velazquez work Tonalist for a second consecutive week on Friday, with Velazquez guiding him through a five-furlong move in 1:01.33 over the Oklahoma training track. Clement said he wanted Velazquez to learn more about Tonalist before he rides him in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes here Aug. 8.

This year, Velazquez has ridden Tonalist to runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and Grade 2 Suburban. In the latter race, Velazquez let the horse move too soon and was outkicked by Effinex, losing by a head.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Robert “Bobby” W. Hall was 85 when he died peacefully at his home at Emerald Acres in Aldergrove, British Columbia, with his daughter Sandra Loseth by his side Wednesday. Hall will forever be linked to an historic moment in horse racing in North America.

There were just 53 horses entered on Sunday’s eight-race card, and since Arlington expanded its racing week from three to four days in July, the struggle to fill races with a diminished equine population at a track with purses barely competitive in the region has grown more intense. Average starters per race was a respectable (these days) 7.61 in May and June but is down to 6.96 in July.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Any lingering doubts trainer Todd Pletcher might have had about whether Daredevil would like the grass were erased Friday when the Grade 1 winner turned in a sparkling half-mile drill with jockey Javier Castellano aboard over the Oklahoma turf course.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – With a four-win Thursday – half of the eight-race card – jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. moved to within three victories, 44-41, of leading rider Mitchell Murrill at the Arlington meet.

And that is a long, long way from where Valdivia sat when, for the first time in a long career, he moved his tack to Arlington for a meet that began May 1. From the start of 2015 until that point, riding at the Gulfstream meeting, Valdivia, 40, had won just three races from 92 mounts, a far cry from his heyday as a mainstay on the Southern California circuit.

Jockey Oriana Rossi underwent seven hours of what was termed successful spinal surgery Thursday at Indiana University Healthcare Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in the aftermath of a Wednesday spill at Indiana Grand, which also led to less serious injuries to two other jockeys.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Keen Pauline, the 15-1 upset winner of the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico on May 15, will return to the races in Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. Keen Pauline was one of eight 3-year-old fillies entered Friday for the 1 1/8-mile race, which serves as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Alabama on Aug. 22.

Keen Pauline will face Grade 1 winners Include Betty and Curalina and the multiple graded stakes winner I’m a Chatterbox in the Coaching Club.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It was champions on parade Thursday morning at Saratoga as three Eclipse Award-winning females from 2014 put in workouts here in preparation for stakes engagements.

Shortly after 5:30 a.m., Take Charge Brandi, last year’s 2-year-old filly champion, worked five furlongs in 1:02.49 on the Oklahoma training track in preparation for the Grade 1 Test on Aug. 8. About 40 minutes later, Untapable, last year’s 3-year-old filly champion, worked five furlongs in 1:01.75. She is likely to make her next start in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 29.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The question of whether Pure Tactics is a turf sprinter or a miler was answered in Wednesday’s $86,350 Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar. The 6-year-old horse can be called both.

Now, owner Doug Cole and trainer Doug O’Neill face a decision on which race to try in August. The options include the $80,000 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs Aug. 19 or the $200,000 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 23.

The Grade 2 Del Mar Mile would seem a logical spot after the Wickerr.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Kung Fu Mambo, a Group 1 winner in Peru in 2012 who won his only start in the U.S. at Santa Anita last month, has been retired because of a recurring tendon injury, trainer Peter Miller said.

The decision to retire Kung Fu Mambo was made in recent days. Kung Fu Mambo was nominated for Saturday’s $200,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar and was considered a potential starter as recently as last weekend.

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