If you had asked trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. last fall who would be his better 3-year-old prospect this season – Speak Logistics or Itsmyluckyday – he would have had a hard time answering.
HALLANDALE BEACH,Fla. – Merit Man is a nose shy of being undefeated in four career starts, the lone blemish on his record a heart-breaking setback in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint. He is also coming off a game three-quarter-length victory in his 3-year-old debut in the Spectacular Bid Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flashback was starting to jog back to the barn following a routine gallop at Santa Anita on Thursday morning when a misbehaving horse came close to brushing him right in front of the grandstand, where trainer Bob Baffert was watching.
“Get him out of there,” Baffert shouted to exercise rider Manny Avila, his voice a mixture of anxiety and jocularity.
“Whenever he’s out there, I just want to get it over with,” Baffert said.
Walkwithapurpose and She’s All Scat, who both won stakes at Laurel Park in their final start of 2012, will clash for the first time in Saturday’s $75,000 Wide Country Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
As one of two Maryland-breds in the seven-horse field, Walkwithapurpose gets to shoot for a $50,000 bonus from the Maryland breeding fund in the seven-furlong Wide Country. Since losing her career debut at Timonium, the Sagamore Farm-owned Walkwithapurpose has put together a three-race winning streak.
PHOENIX – The one-week postponement of Turf Paradise’s $35,000 Glendale Handicap has added a new and significant wrinkle. The 1 1/16-mile grass event for fillies and mares was part of last Saturday’s card, which was canceled after heavy rains made the main track and turf course unsuitable for racing. At that time, the circuit’s top female, E Z Kitty, was not entered. That is no longer the case.
Jockey Gerard Melancon won the 4,000th Thoroughbred race of his career Wednesday night at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., when he guided Doc R U It to victory in the sixth race. He became the 65th rider in North America to reach 4,000 wins, according to a release from Delta.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Dynamic Sky’s explosive burst carried him to victory in the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 12 and hinted that he may have Triple Crown potential. He will take the next step toward such a goal Saturday when he tops a field of 10 3-year-olds entered Wednesday for the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, the highlight of Festival Preview Day at Tampa.
Delta Downs will put on a $1 million card of stakes for Louisiana-breds on Saturday night, and jockey Rosie Napravnik will be active on the program. Her mounts include Heavy on Themister, who leads the $200,000 Premiere Night Championship.
◗ The Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot run Nov. 17 continues to be a productive race as sixth-place finisher Itsmyluckyday won last Saturday’s Holy Bull at Gulfstream. In his previous start, he won the Gulfstream Park Derby.
Tiz Miz Sue, a leading candidate for the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn on April 12, is coming to hand so quickly she could make her seasonal debut a month earlier than anticipated, trainer Steve Hobby said Wednesday. Hobby said Tiz Miz Sue will likely start in the $100,000 Bayakoa at Oaklawn on Feb. 16.
“She’s doing super,” Hobby said. “It looks like I’m probably going to go in the Bayakoa. She’s coming along a little faster than expected, and I don’t want to try and hold her another month [until the Azeri]. We’ll probably go ahead and run.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Animal Kingdom may not be the only horse using the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap on Feb. 9 as a possible stepping-stone for a race on the Dubai World Cup card six weeks later.
Trainer Graham Motion is using the Gulfstream Park Turf as a prep for Animal Kingdom for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 30. His colleague, Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, confirmed Friday that he is considering taking Point of Entry to Dubai for the $5 million Sheema Classic, to be run at 1 1/2 miles on the grass at Meydan on World Cup Night.
