ARCADIA, Calif. - Big Macher lit up the track Wednesday in preparation for the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai – he blazed six furlongs in a bullet 1:09.20. The time was the fastest of the day by one second. He broke off five lengths behind and caught his workmate late.
“I wanted to tighten the screws, but not that much,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “He went a little faster than I wanted. But he galloped out seven furlongs in 1:21 and 3.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – The exciting 3-year-old Om is on the comeback trail, and though he is merely a maiden winner, trainer Dan Hendricks calls the Munnings colt “as anticipated a horse coming back as I’ve ever had.”
There is good reason. When he romped by more than seven lengths in his second start Aug. 9 at Del Mar, earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, Om dusted a field that was no ordinary maiden lineup.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Untapable galloped a mile at Oaklawn on Wednesday and was checking out all the sights and sounds of her new environment, said trainer Steve Asmussen. Untapable has prepped for Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Azeri Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares, at Fair Grounds and arrived at Oaklawn on Monday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Ken McPeek is looking forward to a rematch with trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday in the Grade 2, $750,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. McPeek has the race’s probable second choice in The Truth Or Else, with Baffert sending out champion American Pharoah. Back in 2010, the trainers were part of a memorable renewal of the Rebel when the Baffert-trained Lookin At Lucky overcame trouble for a head win over the McPeek trainee Noble’s Promise.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It is a very short walk from trainer Leah Gyarmati’s barn to the Belmont Park training track. On Tuesday, however, Gyarmati had to travel eight miles from Belmont to Aqueduct to get in workouts for three of her top horses.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Mike Hushion remains in a south Florida hospital, where he is undergoing treatment for a form of leukemia.
Barry Schwartz, one of Hushion’s owners and a longtime friend, said that Hushion was up and walking about this week after undergoing a period of chemotherapy treatment.
“He’s gone through that first round of treatment, and they’re encouraged,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said that while Hushion, 66, focuses on his treatment, he has moved some of his horses to other trainers, “but only until Mike gets better.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When last seen on the racetrack, Mamdooha was edging away from six 3-year-old fillies en route to a 1 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 Cicada Stakes, her third consecutive stakes victory and fourth straight win overall.
That was last March 15.
Almost exactly one year later, Mamdooha will try to pick up where she left off when she makes her 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Correction Stakes, which, like the Cicada, is a six-furlong race run over Aqueduct’s inner track.
Trainer Juan C. Vazquez entered his first horses since November this week. No longer welcome at the Maryland Jockey Club tracks, he now is based on a farm in Delaware.
Vazquez has served two suspensions since his last starter Nov. 15 at Laurel Park, and his trainer’s license is in good standing. He was suspended 90 days by the Delaware Racing Commission for being the aggressor in an altercation with jockey Trevor McCarthy last June. As part of his penalty, he completed a course in anger management.
Top Billing had his first workout since a disappointing return to action when he breezed four furlongs in 49.80 seconds Tuesday at Payson Park.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said last week that he hopes to find another allowance race for Top Billing in the near future. Top Billing ran fourth as the favorite in a second-level allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 22 when making his first start in precisely a year.
Eh Cumpari, the last-to-first winner of the Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes here last Saturday on turf, will be given an opportunity on the Kentucky Derby trail, said trainer Michael Dilger.
:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays
