LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 5-year-old mare named Itsabeautifulthing is just that, according to trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel, although actions speak louder than looks in the racing game.

“She’s a big, good-lookin’ thing,” said Von Hemel. “She can run a little bit, too.”

Itsabeautifulthing is one of six fillies and mares in the Sunday feature at Churchill Downs, a $61,000 turf race open to fourth-level allowance horses and $100,000 claimers. She has not raced since winning a third-level allowance at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 22, a gap of more than 11 weeks.

Cor Cor will try to return to her winning ways while attempting to wire the field of 3-year-old fillies in the $100,000 Inaugural at Presque Isle Downs on Sunday.

OMAHA, Neb. – Diamond Joe, fresh off a win in the $75,000 Bossleman/Gus Fonner Stakes at Fonner Park, will be the center of attention as Horsemen’s Park concludes its three-day festival of racing with the $30,000-added Who Doctor Who Handicap going as the fifth of six races on the Sunday card.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Delegation, who blew away a quality field in the allowance prep for the Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes three weeks ago, should be tough to beat in Sunday’s $200,000 Eclipse, a 1 1/16-mile route at Woodbine.

Delegation missed out on Canadian champion 3-year-old honors last year to Queen’s Plate winner Strait of Dover in a fairly tight Sovereign Award vote. He defeated older opposition in the Grade 3 Durham Cup and finished third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.

Saturday should bring out a wide variety of shapes and sizes of characters, and that’s just on the racetrack as Horsemen’s Park in Omaha, Neb., moves into Day 2 of its Festival of Racing.

With her crack sprinter Delaunay, a $40,000 claim last May 12  who has reeled off six straight stakes wins – including last Saturday’s Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap – headed for a freshening, owner Maggi Moss looks to dominate Saturday’s $70,000 John Wayne Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for Iowa-breds at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, with another pair of former claimers, Ice Hockey and Cresco Direct Hit.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A winning $1 super high five ticket on the ninth and last race Thursday at Churchill Downs returned $1,094.80 after more than $800,000 in new money chased a sizable carryover from Kentucky Derby Day.

The three favorites in an eight-horse field led to the relatively low payoff. The winner, C P Hath a Way, was the 6-1 third choice; she was followed by the 4-5 favorite, Starship Gambler, and the 5-2 second choice, Sabouli. The fourth horse, Here’s Fat, was 20-1, and the fifth horse, The Queen’s Hat, was 20-1.

The winning numbers were 3-9-2-8-5.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Among the 15 horses trainer Bob Hess brought to New York for the spring meet is Merit Man, the third-place finisher behind Orb in the Florida Derby.

Hess said Merit Man is being pointed to the Woody Stephens at seven furlongs here on the Belmont undercard, June 8.
Hess said Merit Man has not started since the Florida Derby because “that was a tough race on him.”

ELMONT, N.Y. - It took a dramatic change, but Irsaal has seemed to finally put it together for Shadwell Stable and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

On Wednesday, Irsaal won a first-level allowance race for 3-year-olds by two lengths, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.15 and earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 88. He was coming off a second-place finish in a similar spot on April 5 at Gulfstream. Prior to that, he had lost four consecutive races by 10 lengths or more.

McLaughlin said that the last two races have been since Irsaal was gelded and given Lasix.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Mine Over Matter loves a wet track.

A 6-year-old son of Mineshaft, Mine Over Matter rallied from fourth under Joel Rosario to win Thursday’s $83,300 Corma Ray Stakes by one length over Be Bullish. It was a half-length back to Fiddlers Afleet in third. Ground Force and Cap the Moment completed the order of finish.

The win was the seventh from 39 career starts for Mine Over Matter, a homebred owned by Mary and Chester Broman and trained by Mike Hushion. He is 5 for 10 over a wet surface.