Stephanie’s Kitten, among the leaders of the older filly and mare turf division, will skip the Grade 1 Beverly D. on Aug. 17 at Arlington Park due to a hind-end issue, her connections said Wednesday.
Trainer Wayne Catalano was not pleased with how Stephanie’s Kitten trained on Wednesday in Saratoga. On Thursday, she was to be sent by van from Saratoga to the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. for a nuclear scan.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Garrett Gomez was removed from his scheduled three mounts for Thursday’s program at Del Mar on Wednesday after he was unable to meet requirements stated by the California Horse Racing Board regarding his treatment for alcoholism. He had been removed from his Wednesday mounts on Tuesday.
Gomez was unable to provide a doctor’s clearance allowing him to ride and showed an excessive level of antidepressants in a urine test taken Monday, according to steward Tom Ward.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Strut the Course concluded an eventful, long weekend with an impressive win here in Monday’s $125,000 Eternal Search Stakes.
“We finally got that done,” said Barbara Minshall, who trains the homebred Strut the Course for John Unger. “She was in good order and got a great ride from [Todd] Kabel.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Ken McPeek said that Friday’s $100,000 Alada Stakes at Saratoga seems like a perfect alternative for anybody seeking to avoid Royal Delta and Authenticity later this month in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. Which is why he has chosen the 1 1/8-mile overnight stakes for Flashy American, despite the fact she comes off a career-best effort when second behind Authenticity in the Grade 3 Shuvee earlier in the meet.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Dave Forster was impressed enough by Go for Guinness’s 6 1/4-length win over Mark in the B.C. Cup Stellar’s Jay on Monday that he is planning to bring him back in just 12 days to run in the Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby on Aug. 17 at Northlands Park.
Go for Guinness finally lived up to the potential he had shown in his two previous route attempts, where he was just a bit too much on the muscle early and failed to finish the way he did in the Stellar’s Jay.
On Fire Baby is scheduled to breeze Saturday at Churchill and then once more before leaving for Saratoga to start in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 25.
Trainer Gary Hartlage said he is pleased with how On Fire Baby, a Grade 1 winner with $720,308 in earnings, has progressed since being hospitalized in mid-June after spiking a high fever.
“We really thought about running in the Gardenia, but this was the better option,” said Hartlage.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Joe Orseno ran into unanticipated hurdles when he entered P J’s Superego in the $55,000 allowance feature Friday at Monmouth Park.
Assuming the remaining barrier is cleared, P J’s Superego will be a major factor in the second-level optional $16,000 claimer for New Jersey-bred fillies and mares at six furlongs.
P J’s Superego is part of an entry with P J Hooker. Paco Lopez is named to ride both Orseno trainees.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buff Bradley’s main concern with Groupie Doll is a simple one.
“Sometimes horses don’t come back the same way they left the racetrack,” said Bradley. “I just want her back with that same fire.”
Groupie Doll, the filly-mare sprint champion of 2012, will make her long-awaited return to action Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Gardenia Stakes, the annual showcase race at Ellis Park in western Kentucky. Groupie Doll has not raced in more than eight months, and it has taken a lot of time and effort to get her back into racing shape.
OPELOUSAS, La. – Two of the Midwest’s higher-profile outfits are sending in raiding parties to Evangeline Downs on Saturday night with the prize being the meeting’s richest event, the $125,000 Evangeline Mile Handicap.
Steve Asmussen will be represented by starting highweight Sabercat at 118 pounds and Brethren, who was assigned 117 pounds by Evangeline racing secretary Coleman Lloyd.
Donald Roberson, a Delaware trainer who was suspended as of July 17 following a search of his barn, appeared before the Delaware Park stewards Tuesday for a hearing into the results of the search, according to Delaware officials and his legal counsel.
The stewards have yet to issue a ruling as a result of the hearing but are expected to do so by the end of the week, according to John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission. Wayne declined to comment on details of the hearing.
