ARCADIA, Calif. – Ron the Greek had an ideal trip when he won the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap last March, stalking a furious pace and roaring home to win the most prestigious race of his career by a convincing 3 1/2 lengths.
That kind of trip may be impossible to duplicate when Ron the Greek starts in Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap.
“This year will be different,” said Rodolphe Brisset, an assistant trainer for Bill Mott.
ARCADIA, Calif. – In three career starts, Surfcup has run on turf, a synthetic track, and dirt with varying results.
He won his debut over a mile on turf at Betfair Hollywood Park on Nov. 23, ran sixth in the King Glorious Stakes over seven furlongs on a synthetic track there on Dec. 16, and was third in the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes over a mile on a wet-fast main track at Santa Anita on Jan. 26.
Full fields of horses will be competing for bigger purses when Mountaineer Racetrack opens for its 63rd season Friday night.
The track in West Virginia’s northwest panhandle has raised overnight purses 10 percent for 2013. Horsemen flooded the entry boxes, with all but two races among the 18 that will be offered on Friday and Saturday nights booked with full fields of 10.
The field for the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in December may include the top older horse in New Mexico.
Los Alamitos officials announced last week that the winner of the $150,000 Zia Park Championship on Nov. 23 will receive an automatic berth to the Champion of Champions on Dec. 14. The Zia Park Championship will take the place of the Refrigerator Handicap at Lone Star Park on the list of races with automatic qualifying berths.
Last year, the Zia Park Championship was won by Prospect to the Top, who was named the 2012 champion aged stallion.
Cease went off at just 7-1 when he ended his 2012 campaign last fall in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. That subtle bit of data seems to say plenty about the capabilities of Cease, who wound up finishing a well-beaten sixth behind Shackleford, Take Charge Indy, and Bourbon Courage.
Duly rested and regrouped by trainer Al Stall Jr., Cease will make his first start since the Clark on Friday evening at Fair Grounds in a surprisingly strong allowance that highlights a nine-race program. First post is 5 p.m. Central, with the eighth-race feature set for 9:10.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Six new horses are in the lineup of 23 separately listed wagering interests in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens its customary three-day run Friday at noon Eastern.
Dangerous Vixen utilized her early speed to splash her way to a front-running 1 1/2-length victory in Tuesday night’s $35,000 Violet Handicap at Charles Town.
Ridden by Arnaldo Bocachica for trainer Bill Starritt, the 4-year-old Desert Vixen ($3.80), the favorite in a field reduced to five fillies and mares by three scratches, bumped with T.M.’s Treasure at the start, but recovered quickly and set comfortable fractions of 23.67 seconds, 48.49, and 1:13.33. She completed seven furlongs over a sloppy, sealed track in 1:26.40.
Larry Jones could tell after the Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 19 that Mark Valeski had put forth great effort. Mark Valeski ran hard and finished second to Infrattini while making his first start since June, and he had a right to come back tired.
Al Stall entered two horses in the Risen Star Stakes but ran neither of them after Departing and Sunbean drew the outside posts in a field that originally numbered 15.
Departing remains on track to start Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park in the $50,000 Texas Heritage Stakes, but Sunbean could be in line for a Louisiana Derby run after another good-looking two-turn victory on Saturday’s card.
