Wed, 10/16/2013 - 14:47

Santa Anita: Bajan likely to bypass Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies for Moccasin

Benoit & Associates
Bajan's trainer, Simon Callaghan, prefers the seven furlongs of the Moccasin to the 1 1/16 miles of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies..

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bajan, winner of last Sunday’s Anoakia Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, is likely to miss the Breeders’ Cup, trainer Simon Callaghan said Wednesday.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Ronald and Jerry Frankel, Bajan was considered for the $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, but instead will start a week later in the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes over seven furlongs at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 14:36

Florida notes: Ribo Bobo targets Maryland Million, Claiming Crown

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Ribo Bobo, a former claimer, won the Icecapade at Monmouth over the summer and will go after the Maryland Million Sprint and Claiming Crown Express this fall.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jason Servis could roll the dice and take his amazing former claimer Ribo Bobo to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. After all, the gelded son of Louis Quatorze has won all eight of his starts this season, at distances ranging from 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 furlongs, including Monmouth Park’s Icecapade Stakes late this summer.

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 15:11

Santa Anita: Secret Circle eyes Breeders' Cup Sprint after comeback win

Shigeki Kikkawa
Secret Circle could make his next start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Secret Circle may have earned a start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 with an emphatic comeback win in an optional claimer Monday.

Unraced since finishing second to Bodemeister in the Arkansas Derby in April 2012, Secret Circle won the six-furlong race by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:07.98.

“When they’re off that long, sometimes you forget how good they are,” trainer Bob Baffert said in the winner’s circle.

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 15:05

Breeders' Cup Classic: Game On Dude gears up with six-furlong drill

Shigeki Kikkawa
Game On Dude, with Martin Garcia up, works six furlongs in 1:12.20 on Tuesday at Santa Anita.

Game On Dude on Tuesday turned up the intensity of his preparation for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov.  2 when working a sharp six furlongs in company at Santa Anita.

Game On Dude was given an official time of 1:12.20 for six furlongs, and his trainer, Bob Baffert, had him going out seven furlongs in “1:25 and change.” He will have two more works prior to the Classic, in which he is expected to be favored.

“Everything went great,” Baffert said. “He was sharp. He’s on schedule.”

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 13:58

Remington: Que Deseo gets more ground in turf feature

The additional distance Que Deseo picks up in Thursday night’s eighth race at Remington Park should be a boon for the half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Wasted Tears. He goes in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance that has a $50,000 claiming option. The race is one of two intriguing offerings on the eve of Friday night’s $1 million Oklahoma Classics program at Remington. In the fifth Thursday night, multiple stakes winner Stachys takes on 3-year-olds Texas Bling and Steelman Run.

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 13:43

Keeneland notes: Nellie Cashman headlines full field in Valley View

Barbara D. Livingston.
Nellie Cashman (inside) bypassed the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 12 in favor of the Valley View Stakes on the Keeneland turf Friday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two of the 11 3-year-old fillies invited to run in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup were withheld from the Grade 1 race last weekend at Keeneland, leaving a field of nine.

Discretion proved the better part of valor in the case of the first of those defections, Discreet Marq, a New York-bred filly who won the $200,000 Pebbles Stakes on Monday at Belmont Park.

Mon, 10/14/2013 - 17:01

Belmont Park: Cluster of Stars going in Empire Showcase instead of Breeders' Cup

Courtney Heeney
Cluster of Stars wins the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap by 2 3/4 lengths at Aqueduct.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Cluster of Stars, the undefeated New York-bred filly, was entered Monday for Saturday’s $150,000 Iroquois Stakes at Belmont Park and will not be supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, her connections said.

Mon, 10/14/2013 - 14:11

Keeneland notes: Temeraine at top of game for Sycamore

Kentucky Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
Temeraine wins the $400,000 Kentucky Cup Turf at Kentucky Downs in September.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tom Proctor gave one of the more flippant answers ever aired on a post-race television interview after Temeraine won the $400,000 Kentucky Turf Cup last month at Kentucky Downs.

Asked what was next for the horse, Proctor replied with mock seriousness: “Give him a bath.”

All kidding aside, Proctor is looking forward to the next start for Temeraine, and that’s the $100,000 Sycamore Stakes, a Grade 3 turf marathon to be run Thursday at Keeneland.

Sun, 10/13/2013 - 16:46

Santa Anita: Nakatani heating up

Benoit & Associates
Qiaona, ridden by Corey Nakatani, goes from last to first in the California Distaff.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Corey Nakatani has had several multiple-win days in recent years.

On Saturday, he rode four winners on the 10-race program, including Qiaona in the California Distaff Handicap on the hillside turf course. In 2012, Nakatani had four winners at Aqueduct on April 7 and had five wins the following week at Oaklawn Park. On Oct. 8, 2011, Nakatani rode six winners at Belmont Park.