Thu, 09/06/2012 - 16:56

Belmont: Sean Avery back from one-year layoff in Affiliate

Tom Keyser
Sean Avery, winning the Vanderbilt in August 2011, returns in Saturday's Affiliate at Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. − Allen Iwinski has entered Sean Avery so many times in the last three weeks that the 6-year-old gelding’s return to the races in Saturday’s $80,000 Affiliate Stakes is almost anti-climactic to the trainer.

After several aborted attempts, Sean Avery will return from a 13-month layoff against five opponents in the six-furlong Affiliate at Belmont Park.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 16:54

Parx Racing: Fugitive Angel favored in Mrs. Penny on Pennsylvania showcase card

Coady Photography
Fugitive Angel will be making her 2012 debut in the Mrs. Penny.

Fugitive Angel, a Grade 3 stakes winner two years ago, and Sloane Ranger, beaten a mere 1 1/2 lengths in a Grade 2 event two months ago, return to statebred company during Saturday’s Pennsylvania Day at the Races showcase at Parx Racing. Five stakes worth a collective $400,000 will be contested on the 11-race card.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 16:32

Arlington Park: Gomez coming in to ride Pataky Kid in the Arlington-Washington Futurity

Four-Footed Fotos
Muppet Man, with Jeffrey Sanchez riding, wins the Meadowlake.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Granted, there’s not much going on in Southern California this weekend, but it still seems noteworthy that SoCal-based jockey Garrett Gomez is named to ride Pataky Kid in the Arlington-Washington Futurity on Saturday.

Pataky Kid has only a maiden win to his credit, but the strong kick he exhibited in that Aug. 9 Arlington race marked him as one of the more promising juveniles in the Midwest, and Pataky Kid has come back from that performance with three fast Arlington workouts.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 16:09

Emerald Downs: Bear Creek Road, Just Zoom Will Do figure to hook up in Saturday feature

AUBURN, Wash. – A $7,500 claimer for 3-year-olds will serve as the feature race Saturday as Emerald Downs winds toward the concluding acts of its 81-day meeting. Sunday is Washington Cup Day, when many of the best runners bred in the state will compete for $215,000 in purses across six stakes races. After that, just six racing dates remain, with the Gottstein Futurity and a series of lucrative starter allowances the closing-day highlights on Sept. 23.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:57

Louisiana Downs: Blueskiesnrainbows stands out in diverse Super Derby field

Benoit & Associates
Blueskiesnrainbows (right) won the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park in his last start, earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Blueskiesnrainbows will be a short-priced favorite in the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Saturday because of both his connections and credentials. He is a Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old coming off a Grade 2 win in Southern California, and he is to be ridden by Joe Talamo, the Louisiana native who went on a stakes tear at Del Mar.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:42

Belmont Park: Air Support must adapt to slow pace in Bowling Green Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Air Support preps for the Bowling Green last Sunday at Saratoga.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Shug McGaughey hopes it won’t be déjà vu all over again when he sends out Air Support as the probable favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Bowling Green Stakes, the featured event on Belmont Park’s 10-race opening-day card.

In last Saturday’s Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga, McGaughey saddled even-money favorite Data Link in a short field with no pace. Dominus, trying turf for the first time, got loose on the lead and beat Data Link by 1 1/4 lengths.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:34

Louisiana Downs: She's All In back to defend title in River Cities

As far as supporting stakes go, the four turf events on Saturday’s Super Derby card go above and beyond the call of duty. Competitive fields and compelling story lines, not to mention six-figure purses, should help hold everyone’s interest on the biggest afternoon of the Louisiana Downs season.

The $100,000 River Cities gets the turf stakes action started in the sixth race. Eight fillies and mares are set to go 1 1/16 miles, including She’s All In, winner of last year’s River Cities.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:33

Presque Isle Downs: Groupie Doll making return in Masters

Barbara D. Livingston
Groupie Doll, ridden by Rajiv Maragh, wins the Humana Distaff in track-record time at Churchill last May.

There are always concerns about whether a horse can return to form following a layoff, especially when an injury is involved.

But trainer Buff Bradley seems unconcerned that Groupie Doll, arguably the leading candidate in the filly-mare sprint division, has lost anything in the four months since she wowed the racing world with a seven-furlong track record in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on the May 5 Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:32

Fairplex: Going for a Spin looks due in E.B. Johnston

POMONA, Calif. – After five runner-up finishes and a losing streak that lasted one year, Going for a Spin did something different last out. Rather than finish second, she ran fifth.

Going for a Spin’s drought makes her an easy target for skeptical handicappers Saturday at Fairplex Park. Can you blame them? Nine straight losses will temper enthusiasm, even if trainer Jerry Hollendorfer believes she had a valid excuse for her most recent defeat.

“She was kind of trapped with nowhere to go,” Hollendorfer said. “The race was over by the time she started running.”

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:12

Del Mar Futurity winner Rolling Fog will try two turns in FrontRunner

Shigeki Kikkawa
Rolling Fog will stretch out to two turns after winning the Del Mar Futurity.

DEL MAR, Calif. – When trainer Bob Baffert shipped his runners to Del Mar for the summer, he had high hopes for Rolling Fog, who had been tearing up the track in his workouts at Santa Anita as he neared his debut. But in his first work over the Polytrack surface at Del Mar, Rolling Fog struggled, and Baffert briefly contemplated sending him to Saratoga to keep him on dirt.