OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Notacatbutallama has already proven to be quite adept on turf. But as is the case with virtually every soon-to-be 3-year-old with talent, his connections want to see how he will handle dirt.
So, even though trainer Todd Pletcher has a full arsenal of talented dirt horses to point down the Triple Crown trail, Notacatbutallama will get his chance to play in the dirt in Sunday’s $80,000 Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The two wins that Home Journey has compiled this fall are not a surprise to trainer Mike Puype.
“She just wants to win,” he said. “She wins her works and she wins in the afternoon.”
So far, Home Journey has prevailed in a maiden race at Santa Anita on Oct. 13, at 26-1, and an allowance race at Betfair Hollywood Park on Nov. 9, as the 5-2 favorite. She will be favored again in her stakes debut, Sunday’s $200,000 Soviet Problem Stakes for 2-year-old California-bred fillies over seven furlongs at Hollywood Park.
A horse trained by David Reid had to be euthanized Friday morning at Hawthorne, the sixth equine life lost at the track since an equine herpesvirus outbreak began Oct. 14.
The deceased horse already had been diagnosed with the EHV-1 virus and was being housed in the Hawthorne EHV-1 isolation barn, according to Illinois state veterinarian Dr. Dawn Folker-Calderon. The animal had a fever that was reported to the state vet’s office on Saturday, Dec. 1, at which time a sample to be tested for EHV-1 was taken, later returning a positive result.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Original Script puts her perfect record on the line in her stakes debut Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Ontario Lassie. She will likely be favored in the 1 1/16-mile event, which drew just five other Ontario-bred 2-year-old fillies.
Original Script, a Chiefswood Stable homebred by Malibu Moon, won both of her races on the lead going 1 1/16 miles, with Beyer Speed Figures in the mid 60s. She dusted maiden special opposition by eight lengths Oct. 13 and then notched a first-level allowance by 3 1/4 lengths Nov. 3.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla – From a handicapping standpoint, three facts immediately stand out when assessing Sunday’s $100,000 South Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Fact one, Romacaca is the class of the field. Fact two, there is a ton of speed in the lineup. Fact three, Romacaca just happens to be one of those speed horses. And that’s the fact that has Danny Miller, who trains Romacaca for owner Frank Calabrese, a little bit concerned.
Justin Evans has been a dominant force in the New Mexico training ranks this year, and on Saturday he will attempt to get his Sunland Park season started on a high note with Warren's Knockout. The horse is one of the top contenders in the $50,000 KLAQ Handicap, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that serves as the mixed meet's first stakes for Thoroughbreds.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Malachite was 20-1 when he debuted at Saratoga on Aug. 30, running second to the heavily bet and highly regarded Archwarrior.Malachite was beaten 3 1/4 lengths, but finished 3 1/2 lengths clear of the rest of the field.
Saturday, Malachite makes his first start since then in a seven-furlong maiden race here that goes as race 6. There doesn't appear to be a killer in this field, though Kiaran McLaughlin has an intriguing first-time starter in Elnaawi, a half-brother to the Grade 1 winner To Honor and Serve who cost $500,000 at auction.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Inglorious was undefeated as a 2-year-old in 2010 and was Canada’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2011. Her claim for the 2012 season may occur in Saturday’s $200,000 Bayakoa Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park, a chance for her first stakes win in the United States.
A five-time stakes winner at Woodbine, including the 2011 Queen’s Plate against males, Inglorious makes her California debut in the Grade 2 Bayakoa, which is run over 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares.
Patty’s Pride has proven herself against open company more than once this year, by winning stakes in Louisiana and Oklahoma. Saturday night, she gets a rare shot with fellow Texas-breds in the $50,000 Fiesta Mile at Retama Park.
The Fiesta, for fillies and mares at a mile on turf, heads a stakes triple. There are also two divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes on the program, both for 2-year-olds at six furlongs. Each race is worth $75,000.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela will be sidelined until January at the earliest to have surgery on a knee that has troubled the 50-year-old rider since the summer.
Valenzuela is expected to miss the early weeks of the Santa Anita meeting and said he will not know the extent of his absence until the surgery.
“I hope to be back at Santa Anita, depending on how severe the knee is,” he said earlier this week. “We’ll see what happens when they open it up.
Valenzuela has not ridden since Nov. 16.
