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.
Rienzi simply refused to lose in Monday’s $50,000 Bud Delp Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds at Delaware Park. Narrowly passed by first Keep the Canoli and then Where’s Dominic, Rienzi ($3.40) rallied determinedly along the rail under Kendrick Carmouche to prevail by a neck.
INGLEWOOD, Claif. - Although Dice Flavor was eighth of 12 in the $2 million United Arab Emirates Derby at Meydan Racecourse on March 30, trainer Paddy Gallagher said he does not regret the international journey.
“I’d do it again,” Gallagher said earlier this week.
Dice Flavor won the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 16 in his stakes debut. The trip overseas was his following race, and most recent outing. In Dubai, racing against 3-year-olds and Southern Hemisphere 4-year-olds, Dice Flavor was beaten 13 lengths by winner Lines of Battle.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Tiz Flirtatious was a head away from winning the first Grade 1 of her career when she finished a valiant second to Marketing Mix in the $250,500 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares on turf Monday.The loss was a setback for trainer Marty Jones, who had the 5-year-old Tiz Flirtatious in peak form for the spring-summer meeting’s top race for turf fillies and mares.
“It was tough to see her run that hard and lose,” Jones said. “She seemed like she took the race okay. She’s tired.”
AUBURN, Wash. – Front-runners River of Aces and Roarified headline the feature race Friday at Emerald Downs, a $17,500 claimer for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs. First post for the seven-race card is 6:45 p.m. Pacific.
Seven horses were entered to run in the feature, and most of the action will take place up front. River of Aces has won 4 of 9 career starts, each victory coming from on or just off the pace. Roarified has been even better, emerging victorious in 9 of 13 starts, with eight of those victories in gate-to-wire fashion.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Trainer Craig Dollase has a reminder every day of his victory in the 2010 Hollywood Gold Cup. Awesome Gem, who won the race as a 7-year-old, is a pony at Dollase’s barn at Betfair Hollywood Park.
The $500,000 Gold Cup is July 6 and is the richest race of the spring-summer meeting. Dollase hopes to have another veteran in the race – the 6-year-old gelding Oilisblackgold.
The Penn Mile has no history – this is the first year of its existence – but it has plenty of money behind it, and the new $500,000 turf race for 3-year-olds drew a strong field when Saturday’s Penn National card was assembled Wednesday.
Bob Baffert has won nine Triple Crown races, but the Hall of Fame trainer had little impact on this year’s races, with no runners in the Kentucky Derby and just one in the Preakness Stakes, and his participation in this year’s Belmont Stakes on June 8 is far from assured, with Baffert on Wednesday saying he was still contemplating whether to run Code West, who worked with stablemate Power Broker on Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.
