Tue, 08/12/2014 - 14:20

Alabama will be stiff test for Size

Barbara D. Livingston
Size works five furlongs in 1:00.36 at Saratoga on Tuesday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Size has come a long way in a short period of time.

Unraced until March of this year, Size, a 3-year-old daughter of First Samurai, has won three of her first four starts, including the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks. Her connections will find out where Size fits in the 3-year-old filly division when she runs in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 14:04

Luminance to miss Debutante with sore shins

Benoit & Associates
Luminance won her racing debut on July 20 by 2 1/2 lengths.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Luminance, the Bob Baffert-trained filly whose July 20 debut was among the most impressive wins of the summer by a 2-year-old of either gender, will not make the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 30.

Baffert said via text Tuesday that Luminance has sore shins, and that he has backed off her training.

A Tale of the Cat filly owned by Kaleem Shah, Luminance was an open secret in her debut during opening weekend of the Del Mar meet. Despite a slow start and a wide trip, Luminance ($3) rolled to a 2 1/2-length win in 57.39 seconds for five furlongs.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 13:42

Elliott kicked by horse, breaks rib

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Stewart Elliott, new to this circuit this meet, got a rude welcoming gift Monday morning when he was kicked by a horse while walking through the stable area, resulting in a rib fracture that will sideline him two weeks, he said Tuesday.

“Luckily, I was wearing my safety vest,” he said. “Without it, I might have punctured a lung. It could have been worse.”

Elliott said he would recuperate at his home in the Philadelphia area.

“I haven’t seen my family since I’ve been out here,” he said.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 13:36

Smith to ride Shared Belief in Pacific Classic

Benoit & Associates
Shared Belief wins the Los Alamitos Derby under Mike Smith, who will be back aboard for the Pacific Classic.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Mike Smith has chosen to ride Shared Belief rather than Game On Dude in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 24. Shared Belief and Game On Dude, the defending race champion, both had serious, stamina-building seven-furlong workouts Tuesday as final preparations began for the meet’s richest and most-important race.

Smith had been riding both horses but in recent days informed both Jerry Hollendorfer, the trainer of Shared Belief, and Bob Baffert, the trainer of Game On Dude, that he would be siding with Shared Belief for the Pacific Classic.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 13:31

Pacific Classic or Forego for Fed Biz

Benoit & Associates
Fed Biz will probably turn back to the seven-furlong distance of the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga form the 1 1/16 miles of this win in the San Diego at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Minutes after Game On Dude worked seven furlongs for the Pacific Classic, trainer Bob Baffert sent out Fed Biz for a six-furlong work, in company, that received an official time of 1:11.60.

“That was a good work. He needed that,” Baffert said.

Fed Biz won the San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles here last month. Baffert is trying to decide whether to stretch him out to 1 1/4 miles for the Pacific Classic or turn him back to seven furlongs for the Forego on Aug. 30 at Saratoga. Both are Grade 1 races.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 13:12

Trendi, Kiss My Hocks back for All American Futurity trials

Trendi and Kiss My Hocks are elite 2-year-old Quarter Horses, but when they attempt to qualify for the $2.6 million All American Futurity during trials at Ruidoso Downs on Thursday and Friday, the task will not be easy. They are among 280 horses vying for just 10 spots in the finale Sept. 1 at the New Mexico track.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 12:01

Little Alexis will ship to Parx for Cotillion next

Kenny Martin/Coglianese Photos
Little Alexis will start next in Parx Racing's Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes on Sept. 20.

Gulfstream Park-based owner-trainer Carlo Vaccarezza said he intends to send Little Alexis to Parx Racing near Philadelphia for her next start in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes, a Grade 1 race Sept. 20 that is expected to draw divisional leader Untapable and other top fillies such as Sweet Reason and My Miss Sophia.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:57

Gulfstream notes: Another Rainbow 6 jackpot available Thursday

The “seed” money Gulfstream Park is using for its 20-cent Rainbow 6 continues to make the wager viable. One winner took down a windfall of $40,807 last Thursday, after which a total of more than $96,000 was wagered over the next three days.

Accounting for takeout and consolation payoffs along the way, the guaranteed jackpot remains $50,000 as another four-day week resumes Thursday with a 10-race card. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern, with the Rainbow 6 starting with race 5 (post 3:21).

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:52

The speedy Reneesgotzip strides toward 2014 debut

Justin N. Lane
Reneesgotzip, who runs Sunday in the Rancho Bernardo, is targeting a third straight try at the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The workouts, speed figures, and visual impressions convey the same message about Reneesgotzip, the four-time stakes winner who makes her 2014 debut in Sunday’s $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar.

Reneesgotzip is a brilliant sprinter.

But her hard-charging style can take a toll.

“She’s too fast for her own good,” trainer Peter Miller said last weekend.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:44

Atreides will make first stakes start in Monarchos

Coglianese Photos
Atreides will make his next start in the Aug. 30 Monarchos Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Atreides will make his next start Aug. 30 in the Monarchos Stakes at Gulfstream Park after the highly regarded Stonestreet Stables colt easily rolled through his first allowance condition Sunday at the south Florida track.

Atreides, a 3-year-old colt by Medaglia d’Oro, remains unbeaten in two career starts after winning the 6 1/2-furlong race by three lengths as the 1-10 favorite. He recorded an eye-catching 105 Beyer Speed Figure in his July 12 debut at six furlongs.