Thu, 12/13/2012 - 15:43

Hollywood Park: Pletcher brings Violence cross country for CashCall Futurity

Jessica Hansen/NYRA
Violence, ridden by Javier Castellano, survives an inquiry for brushing an opponent during the stretch run of Sunday's Nashua for 2-yar-olds.

California, here he comes.

Trainer Todd Pletcher shipped west six weeks ago and made off with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Shanghai Bobby, securing the Eclipse Award for champion male 2-year-old. He was just getting warmed up.

Pletcher is flush with so many promising 2-year-old males that he was able to win last month’s Remsen at Aqueduct with Overanalyze, while keeping Violence on the sidelines, awaiting the Grade 1, $750,000 CashCall Futurity on Saturday at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 15:19

Charles Town: Eleanor Casey Memorial may stay in the family

Mike Montgomery
Flirting Song wins the Tri-State Futurity at Charles Town.

The late Eleanor Casey’s husband and one of her sons will try to become the first one in their family to win the stakes named in her honor on Saturday night at Charles Town.

James W. Casey, who founded the family’s Taylor Mountain Farm with his wife in the early 1960s, will saddle favored Queen’o’daball in Saturday night’s $50,000 Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes for West Virginia-bred 2-year-old fillies. Son John A. Casey, who manages the farm, will saddle the uncoupled entry of Landon Did It and I Did It That Time in the two-turn, seven-furlong race.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 15:05

Golden Gate: Gig Harbor rematched against Mason duo in Oakland Stakes

Shigeki Kikkawa
Gig Harbor earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98 for his Sunday allowance victory, and will return Dec. 15 for the Oakland Stakes.

Trainer Lloyd Mason is hoping for a change in fortune Saturday when he enters Shudacudawudya and Cardiffbythesea at Golden Gate Fields in the $50,000 Oakland Stakes at six furlongs.

The two sprinters ran second and third to Gig Harbor in a Nov. 11 allowance prep for the Oakland. They’ll be meeting Gig Harbor again Saturday.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 15:04

Aqueduct: Saginaw targets 10th win of year in Gravesend Handicap

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Saginaw will be seeking his 10th win of 2012 in Saturday’s $75,000 Gravesend Handicap.

It’s hard to believe they haven’t crossed paths, but former stablemates Saginaw and Hillswick, two of the most prolific winners on the New York circuit over the past two years, tangle for the first time in Saturday’s 54th running of the $75,000 Gravesend Handicap, with defending titlist Frazil standing in their way.

The Gravesend is the eighth of nine races and the third leg of a $250,000-guaranteed late pick four that gets under way with race 6 at 2:50 p.m. Eastern.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:52

Tampa Bay Downs: Alley Oop Oop drops off troubled trip in Tropical Turf

OLDSMAR Fla. – Alley Oop Oop, a close-up fifth in the Grade 3 Tropical Turf Handicap in his last outing, drops down in class on Saturday in a field of nine optional claiming turf runners slated to start in the 1 1/16-mile feature.

Trained by Stanley Gold, Alley Oop Oop made his last start in the nine-furlong Tropical Turf on the Calder grass. The 4-year-old Florida homebred was steadied in traffic while racing along in sixth in the nine-horse field, then swung wide into the stretch, but couldn’t gain late, winding up fifth, beaten just three lengths by winning Philly Ace.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:49

Fair Grounds: McGee pair of Worldly and Majestic Harbor both rate shot in Tenacious

Tom Keyser
Apart will race with blinkers for the first time in Monday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.

The most interesting older horse in the barn of Paul McGee, Churchill Downs track-record-setter Infrattini, is slated to race next month in the Louisiana Handicap. But McGee has depth in the dirt-route ranks and entered two other horses in the $75,000 Tenacious Handicap, the Saturday feature at Fair Grounds. McGee plans to start Worldly and Majestic Harbor. Both horses rate a chance in the 1 1/16-mile Tenacious – as do five of the other seven entrants in a truly wide-open race.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:35

Laurel Park: Winning Image has recency edge in Willa On The Move Stakes

Tom Keyser
Winning Image ships in from Parx Racing for Saturday’s $100,000 Willa On The Move Stakes at Laurel Park.

Winning Image’s sharp recent form may give her a substantial advantage over her three main rivals coming off lengthy absences in Saturday’s $100,000 Willa On The Move Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at Laurel Park.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:29

Hollywood Park: Gomez hoping for better trip on Grandeur in Turf Cup

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday offers redemption for jockey Garrett Gomez aboard the promising 3-year-old Grandeur.

In the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 25, Gomez rode Grandeur for the first time and they finished a fast-closing second in the race over 1 1/4 miles, losing by 1 1/4 lengths to Unbridled Command. Gomez will try to improve on his ride in the derby, where he had Grandeur six wide on the final turn before finishing with a big rally.

“I ended up in the middle of nowhere,” Gomez said of his wide trip.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:23

Woodbine: Quick Turnover has serious shot in feature

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – There is no stakes on the final Saturday program of the Woodbine meet, on an 11-race card that attracted a whopping 140 entries.

Quick Turnover could prevail in the featured fourth, a first-level allowance route for 2-year-olds that is worth $70,300.

Quick Turnover hasn’t been worse than fourth in five starts, while banking about $37,000. Following a summer layoff Oct. 8, he checked in third against $40,000 maidens. Twelve days later, he improved to second against $32,000 maidens in another six-furlong sprint.

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 14:23

Woodbine: Get A Grip opts for Valedictory Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Kevin Attard had a pair of options for Get A Grip on Sunday, the final day of the Ontario and Canadian racing seasons.

Get A Grip, an Irish-bred 5-year-old who races in the name of Attard’s son Joshua Attard, was nominated to the Grade 3, $175,000 Valedictory Stakes, which at 1 3/4 miles is the longest stakes race of the Woodbine meeting. But Get A Grip had run for a claiming price of $25,000 in September 2011 and was eligible for a 1 7/8-mile starter allowance that offered a purse of $47,400.