EAST BOSTON, Mass. – Long known for taking care of its own, the racetrack community is coming together to rally support for jockey Andria Terrill, who was released from Massachusetts General Hospital on July 16 after suffering injuries in a spill at Suffolk Downs on July 8.
Rick Hiles is hoping the new standout in his barn will run back to a huge last race, and why wouldn’t he hope as much? Good Morning Diva earned a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a Churchill Downs allowance race last month, and now the colt returns Saturday as a major threat in the 36th running of the $50,000 Don Bernhardt Stakes at Ellis Park in western Kentucky.
“I do expect him to run the same race back,” said Hiles, a training veteran who is down to four horses at his base at Churchill. “He’s a pretty nice horse and looks like he’s on the improve.”
Trainer Steve Specht was surprised when Marks Mine did not grab the lead at the start in the California Wine Stakes at Pleasanton on June 22, but he was not surprised by her strong second-place finish.
On Saturday, 3-year-old Marks Mine will face older fillies and mares for the first time, in the $75,000 California State Fair Fillies and Mares Sprint Handicap in Sacramento. She has seven rivals in the six-furlong race, including fellow 3-year-old Fighting Mean Mad and five-year-old mare English Royal, last year’s runner-up in the race.
A mberjack easily defeated West Hills Giant when they met going seven furlongs in last month’s Mike Lee Stakes at Belmont Park. Will a clean break and the stretch out to two turns be enough for West Hills Giant to turn the tables in Saturday’s $150,000 New York Derby at Finger Lakes?
It is hard to take a firm stand on any of the seven horses running in the $50,000 Three and Four Year Old Sales Stakes at Northlands Park on Saturday, so it might be worth following the bouncing Walcott. That would be Rico Walcott, who is dominating the jockey standings at Northlands and rode four of the horses entered to wins in their last start.
Walcott bailed on all four, however, and will be aboard Northern Yankee in the 6 1/2-furlong feature, which headlines a strong 10-race card.
The six-furlong Dr. Fager and its filly counterpart, the Desert Vixen, highlight Saturday’s card at Calder Race Course, along with the $75,000 Nancy’s Glitter Handicap for older fillies and mares. The $75,000 Dr. Fager, for 2-year-olds, and the $75,000 Desert Vixen, for 2-year-old fillies, are the first legs of the Florida Stallion Stakes series.
Royal Delta is a multiple champion, but she is not perfect.
Several times in her career, Royal Delta was beaten in a spot she was expected to win, only to come back the next time with an authoritative victory.
At 3, Royal Delta was beaten in the Coaching Club American Oaks and came back to win the Grade 1 Alabama. That fall, she was beaten in the Beldame and came back to win the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. At 4, Royal Delta was beaten in the Personal Ensign and came back to win the Beldame and Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic.
There will be stakes action aplenty on the embattled south Florida circuit Saturday. Four stakes races, valued at $75,000 apiece, will be decided, one at Gulfstream Park and three others just eight miles down the road at Calder, which features the opening two legs of the 2013 Florida Stallion Stakes series.
Sr. Quisqueyano is far and away the class of the field in the Showing Up Stakes at Gulfstream. The Showing Up, however, is scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf, a surface Sr. Quisqueyano has yet to try in a dozen career starts.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse has two sharp horses for Saturday’s $150,000 Ontario Matron at Woodbine. Sisterly Love will be favored in the 1 1/16-mile route for fillies and mares, but Eagle Hall could be the sleeper in the Grade 3 stakes.
