LEXINGTON, Ky. – Aruna, a five-time stakes winner whose lone Grade 1 victory came in the 2011 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, has run her last race and has been sent to her birthplace to be a broodmare, trainer Graham Motion announced Wednesday evening.
A 5-year-old mare bred and owned by the Flaxman Holdings Ltd., Aruna won seven times and earned $994,879 from her 18 starts. She finished sixth as the 5-2 second choice Sunday at Keeneland in her second try at the Spinster.
Trainer Tim Rycroft has two solid shots at winning the $50,000 Harvest Gold Plate with City Trooper and Real Dingo at Northlands Park on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and goes as race 12 on the 13-race closing day card.
City Trooper was well-thought-of when he arrived at Hastings last spring but went unplaced in two sprint stakes. He was transferred to Rycroft’s care following his ninth-place finish in the Johnny Longden 6000, and he has been a different horse since he arrived in Edmonton.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Humancomplaint is far from a finished project.
“He’s big and backward,” trainer Ben Cecil said. “He’s getting there.”
The Humancomplaint has shown enough progress for Cecil and owner Paul Reddam to enter the colt in Saturday’s $250,000 California Cup Juvenile over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. They were encouraged by his second-place finish in the I’m Smokin Stakes over six furlongs at Del Mar on Sept. 3.
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Although he is winless in three starts since being claimed in July, Mensa Heat has retained his consistent form, and on Saturday at Santa Anita, he lands a terrific chance to both erase that losing streak and pocket one of the richest paydays of his career in the $100,000 Donald Valpredo California Cup Sprint.
When Pedro Alvarado was a boy growing up in Mexico City he knew he wanted to be a jockey. Following his dream, he enrolled in a jockey school when he was 13 and he began riding races at the Hipodromo de las Americas in 1981 when he was 16. A career that saw him win over 3,000 races will end on Sunday when he rides Mr Exspeedient in the last race.
MIAMI – Trainer Bill Kaplan will have bigger fish to fry when he brings Musical Romance to Santa Anita in several weeks to defend her title in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. But before heading west, Kaplan will attempt to pick up a little shipping money when he sends out favored Putyourdreamsaway along with Putitinmypocket in Saturday’s $300,000 My Dear Girl Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and outsider Uptown Anthem about an hour later in the $300,000 In Reality for 2-year-olds.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ken Ramsey likes to talk about how he rubbed elbows with Queen Elizabeth II in her private skybox at the Royal Ascot meet in 2009. At one point during his brief visit, Ramsey said that he exclaimed: “Your Majesty, I believe you have the best seat in the house!”
There’s a good chance Ramsey will be yucking it up again after the race named in honor of the Queen is run Saturday at Keeneland, where his homebred filly Stephanie’s Kitten figures to be favored in the 29th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.
ARCADIA, Calif. – It will take all of the Santa Anita autumn meeting for John Scott to achieve the goals expected of him.
A 5-year-old gelding, John Scott will start favored in Saturday’s $175,000 California Cup Classic at Santa Anita, a race that could be a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile here on Nov. 3.
“Hopefully this won’t be a hard race,” trainer Carla Gaines said on Thursday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Trainer Reade Baker will be represented in both Woodbine stakes on Saturday, when he runs Tu Endie Wei in the $100,000 Ruling Angel and Missy Bear in the $150,000 Fanfreluche.
Tu Endie Wei, last year’s Canadian champion 2-year-old filly, should be favored in the Ruling Angel, a 6 1/2-furlong overnight race for 3-year-old fillies.
Tu Endie Wei won two stakes this year, the six-furlong Star Shoot in April and the seven-furlong Seaway on Sept. 1. In the Grade 3 Seaway, she defeated older opposition, most notably Roxy Gap.
Adahai showed no rust three weeks ago in the African Prince Stakes, proving he is the boss of the 3-year-old Massachusetts-breds this year. He gets another chance to remain on top in Saturday’s $50,000 John Kirby Stakes at Suffolk Downs.
