Unusual Heat, a son of Nureyev, has been California’s leading turf sire for the past nine years, so when you purchase a filly sired by Unusual Heat, the possibility of running her on turf is in the back of your mind, trainer Jeff Bonde said.
Running her on turf for a $100,000 purse against California-breds pushed the thought to the front of Bonde’s mind, and on Saturday he will try Unusual Way on a new surface in the Campanile, a one-mile race for statebred 3-year-old fillies.
Lattin Devil, impressive winner of the Inaugural Stakes against open company on opening night at Evangeline Downs in mid-April, looks to make it 2 for 2 in stakes this meeting when he takes on four Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds in Saturday night’s $50,000 Ragin Cajun. The seven-furlong feature makes an early appearance on the 11-race program as the second half of the early daily double.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Incognito, the fifth-place finisher in the Peter Pan Stakes on May 11, has been confirmed as a starter for the Belmont, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Thursday. He will be transferred from Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable to his Godolphin Racing operation and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.
Call Me Lou and Clear the Runway look like the main players in a second-level allowance race with a $25,000 claiming option that headlines the eight-race card at Northlands Park on Saturday. The six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew seven horses and will go as the seventh race.
Call Me Lou is moving up in class after scoring an impressive win over Spanish Jazz in a first-level allowance race May 10, and the 75 Beyer Speed Figure he earned for his four-length romp going six furlongs is easily the best last-race figure in the field.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Nick Gonzalez sends out the improving 4-year-old fillies Starship Universe and Man Stuff in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Hendrie Stakes at Woodbine.
The 6 1/2-furlong sprint also lured Acting Naughty, who edged Starship Universe for the victory in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes here April 28.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Dashing Daisy will try to make amends for failing as the favorite last out when she runs in a $15,000 claiming race for fillies and mares that will serve as Saturday’s feature at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and goes as race 6 on the eight-race card which begins at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Robby Albarado has regrets, but who doesn’t? His mounts once earned nearly $20 million in a year, but at age 39 he is no longer among the national riding leaders, a fact partly attributable, by his own admission, to mistakes he made.
Those mistakes – back-to-back domestic-violence charges − brought him legal problems and embarrassment, not to mention a major slowdown in his riding business. They are part of his personal history. Yet, with every day, they move further into the past while Albarado is doing all he can to atone.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The road to the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown, from the standpoint of Daily Racing Form clocker reports, starts at the same place this whole journey first began, at Churchill Downs, where three potential Belmont Stakes starters including Preakness winner Oxbow worked Thursday morning.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Any hints of concern that something might be amiss with Golden Soul quickly evaporated in the Thursday morning heat when the Kentucky Derby runner-up worked a sharp five furlongs at Churchill Downs in preparing for the June 8 Belmont Stakes.
It was the first workout for Golden Soul since his surprise runner-up finish in the May 4 Derby. Dallas Stewart, who trains the colt for owner-breeder Charles Fipke, had been somewhat coy in recent days about when the colt would work, but Stewart was beaming with confidence after the drill.
ELMONT, N.Y. – With success comes scrutiny, something trainer David Jacobson is finding out first hand these days.
Following a recent hot streak that saw him win eight races with 16 starters (covering 14 races), Jacobson has had his barn placed under 24-hour surveillance and blood tests have been taken on all of his horses stabled at Aqueduct. The surveillance and testing is a joint effort between the New York State Gaming Commission and New York Racing Association.
