ARCADIA, Calif. – Firing Line, second to Dortmund in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 20, will be ridden by Gary Stevens in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds on Feb. 7 at Santa Anita Park.
Trainer Simon Callaghan made the announcement on Twitter last weekend. On Wednesday, Callaghan said previous Grade 1 wins for his stable with Stevens on Fashion Plate and Byrama were a factor in the decision. Firing Line races for Arnold Zetcher.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Sam’s Sister, the dominant female sprinter in Southern California this winter, is likely to start in the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at seven furlongs at Laurel Park in Maryland on Feb. 14.
On Wednesday, Sam’s Sister worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds at Santa Anita. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Sam’s Sister has won consecutive stakes at seven furlongs in her last two starts – the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Dec. 26 and the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes on Jan. 19.
ARCADIA, Calif. – An all-stakes pick four combining four major stakes at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park will be offered Feb. 7 with a $500,000-guaranteed pool.
The X-Country pick four links the Donn Handicap and Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in Florida with the San Antonio Stakes and San Marcos Stakes in California. The bet is sponsored by the racetracks and the Xpressbet account-wagering service and will be offered on DRF Bets. Both tracks are owned by The Stronach Group.
Take Charge Brandi has drawn post 6 in a field of seven for the $100,000 Martha Washington at Oaklawn on Saturday.
The one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies will be the 2015 debut for Take Charge Brandi, whose wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess, and Grade 1 Starlet secured her the Eclipse Award for outstanding 2-year-old filly of 2014.
Trainer Kellyn Gorder had a productive week at Oaklawn, with Joy Boy and Bootsy’s Girl both positioning themselves for potential stakes starts off powerful wins. On Sunday, Joy Boy captured a $62,500 optional claimer that drew a handful of stakes winners. He led throughout for his second straight win at the level, earning a 97 Beyer.
A field of 12 3-year-olds has been entered for the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.
Ocean Knight, an impressive winner of his lone start, figures as one of the favorites in the 1 1/16-mile race. He is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. Also among the favorites will be the Ocala, Fla.-based Catalina Red, the winner of the Inaugural and Pasco stakes for trainer Chad Stewart.
Ocean Knight and the uncoupled Todd Pletcher duo of Royal Son and G Five are among seven entered from the Gulfstream-Gulfstream Park West circuit in Miami.
All three stakes starters whom trainer Mike Maker had at Sam Houston Race Park last Saturday night are headed in different directions. Coalport, who won the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup, is returning to Florida; Dreams Cut Short, who finished fourth in the same race, will target stakes at Fair Grounds; and Shanon Nicole, a close third in the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic, is headed to next month’s Fasig-Tipton auction in Kentucky.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Fast workouts are rare at six furlongs on the Tapeta Footings synthetic surface at Golden Gate Fields – unless the horse in question is Shared Belief.
On Wednesday, Shared Belief, the champion 2-year-old male of 2013, worked six furlongs in 1:11.80, which trainer Jerry Hollendorfer described as the 4-year-old gelding’s last major workout before the $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After Good Luck Gus won the Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-breds on Dec. 14, part-owner Michael Dubb said he would like to give the colt a chance in an open-company stakes for 3-year-olds early in 2015.
Good Luck Gus, who has worked only once since the Damon Runyon, was not among the 24 nominees for next Saturday’s Grade 3 Withers Stakes.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Belle Gallantey, a dual Grade 1 winner in 2014, could decide her own future based on how she runs in Saturday’s $100,000 Ladies Handicap at Aqueduct.
A good performance and she likely will continue racing. A poor performance – akin to her fifth-place finish in the Affectionately Stakes on New Year’s Day – and she could be retired and bred.
