INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jockey Rafael Bejarano and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer are almost unbeatable as a team this year.
Since Jan. 1, they have combined to win with 25 of 40 starters. Saturday, the pair had a stakes double at Betfair Hollywood Park, winning the $245,000 Melair Stakes with Doinghardtimeagain and the $125,250 Tiznow Stakes with Kate’s Event.
Lightly raced 3-year-old colt Abstraction made the leap from maiden to stakes company and easily handled the assignment as a convincing winner in Saturday’s $75,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico.
Abstraction isn’t nominated to the Triple Crown series, so it’s unlikely he will return to Pimlico for the Preakness in three weeks. But he could become a factor within the division later this season.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Proven in sprints against California-breds, Doinghardtimeagain showed she is equally effective around two turns in Saturday’s $245,000 Melair Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Winning for the first time at a distance, Doinghardtimeagain ($3.40) caught pacesetter Sweet Marini in the final furlong to win the rich race for California-bred 3-year-old fillies by 1 1/4 lengths under leading rider Rafael Bejarano.
“She did a really good job,” winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. “She can run more than one distance.”
Trainer Bill Mott didn’t lose faith in his 7-year-old Flat Out despite two losses to begin the year.“The first two races would make you wonder, but if they’re sound and doing well, usually they’ll come back,” Mott said. “He was certainly doing well enough.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Essence Hit Man, Canada’s champion sprinter in each of the past two years, won the $169,200 Jacques Cartier Stakes for the third straight year at Woodbine Saturday.
With blinkers off for his season opener, Essence Hit Man set moderate fractions under Jesse Campbell, with Bear Tough Tiger in close proximity.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Although he called an audible with his Kentucky Derby workers, moving their breezes up 24 hours because of impending rain, trainer Todd Pletcher already had workouts penciled in Saturday for his four Kentucky Oaks candidates, including likely favorite Dreaming of Julia. The Pletcher runners were joined on Saturday’s tab by one other Oaks hopeful, trainer Bill Mott’s Flashy Gray.
Work of the day
[bc_video_id:290591:]LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The threat of heavy rains, forecast to start sometime Saturday, forced the hands of several trainers looking to assure they would have a fast track for the all-important final Kentucky Derby works scheduled this weekend. A number of breezes originally penciled in for Sunday were moved up 24 hours, including five of trainer Todd Pletcher’s six potential Derby starters, and Chad Brown’s horse Normandy Invasion.[:slideshow-right:]
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Saint Loup moved closer to a stakes appearance in Southern California with an eventful victory in an optional claimer over 1 1/4 miles on turf at Betfair Hollywood Park on Friday.
After the race, the idea of a stakes was mentioned by a representative of co-owner Michael Whieldon, but not with any urgency to do so in the near future.
Bloodstock agent Brad Martin, representing Whieldon, said that another allowance race would be preferred before a stakes.
"I'd like to run have him go through his conditions first," Martin said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Every day is a logistical challenge for trainer Todd Pletcher, with all the horses for whom he’s entrusted, and though the stakes are magnified for the Kentucky Derby, his carefully planned workout scheme for Saturday morning at Churchill Downs seemed to go off flawlessly, as five of his prospective Derby runners, including unbeaten Verrazano, concluded serious preparation for next Saturday’s race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The connections of Princess of Sylmar entered the weekend still on the fence about whether to run their 3-year-old filly in Friday’s $1 million Kentucky Oaks.
On Saturday morning, Princess of Sylmar put in her two cents with a solid four-furlong workout in 48.88 seconds at Churchill Downs that seemingly has owner Ed Stanco and trainer Todd Pletcher now leaning toward running in the prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies.
