ARCADIA, Calif. – Off-the-board finishes last out will not prevent Slim Shadey and Turbo Compressor from entering the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship as key contenders Sunday at Santa Anita.
It will be a different story Nov. 3 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The field will be stronger, the distance longer, and Bourbon Bay and Casino Host will be fully cranked after using the $150,000 John Henry as their tune-up prep.
The urgency Sunday is greater for Slim Shadey and Turbo Compressor.
The $150,000 Mildred Vessels Handicap at Los Alamitos offers more than a lucrative prize befitting a Grade 1 race for Quarter Horse fillies and mares.
The winner of the 400-yard race receives an automatic berth to the $750,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 15, a race that plays a pivotal role in year-end championships.
The field for the Vessels Handicap includes several runners who would fit in the Champions of Champions.
ELMONT, N.Y. – With the luxury of having a true route horse like Dreaming of Julia in the barn, it gives the connections of Kauai Katie the opportunity to let her doing what she does best.
Thus, for at least the time being, Kauai Katie will be kept sprinting and she is strictly the one to beat in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park. The Matron, run at six furlongs, shares billing with the Grade 2, $200,000 Futurity for 2-year-old males on the 10-race card.
When owner Jim Riccio claimed Willy Beamin for $25,000 in March, he was hoping to land a solid runner that would work in the New York-bred program. Fast forward six months, and Willy Beamin has given Riccio his first Grade 1 win in 30 years in racing.
“He was a surprise,” said Riccio. “I thought he was worth the $25,000. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he was as good as he’s gotten. He’s going so well it’s unbelievable.”
Assiniboia Downs has reported an all-sources daily average handle of $138,962 on its live product, a decrease of 8.7 percent from last year’s $151,097, for the 59-day meeting that ended last Sunday.
Total all-sources handle was $8,198,785, down by 7.8 percent from last year’s $8,896,330.
The average field size was 6.9, down from 7.5 last year.
◗ The jockeys’ race came right down to the wire this year with Paul Nolan emerging victorious by a 76-75 count over Jennifer Reid. Rohan Singh was three wins back in third.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Atlantic Hurricane found the going tough when travelling 6 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta surface in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters on Sept . 8. Now Atlantic Hurricane will be looking to regroup here at Woodbine in Sunday’s $100,000 Avowal, a seven-furlong turf overnight stakes which attracted a field of 10 fillies and mares.
MIAMI – Calder said on Friday that it will begin charging a $10 per day stabling fee for all stalls occupied during its off season, which runs from Dec. 1, 2012, until April 5, 2013. The fees will be used to help keep the stable area in operation during that period.
The 2012 Calder meeting ends on Nov. 30, with the 2013 session scheduled to open on April 5.
The six fillies and mares who make up the field for the $60,000 Chaves County at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M., on Sunday all have a nose for the wire. Between them, they have won 44 races.
Veillit’ leads the field with 12 wins, while Cali Baby boasts 11. Others set to start in the one-mile race include Someplace Else, a six-time winner who invades from Remington Park.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Ruffy Joe will help give trainer Carl Lausten a big shot in both divisions of the CTHS Sales Stakes at Hastings this weekend when he runs in the colts and geldings division Sunday. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds drew seven horses and goes as race 6 on the eighth-race card, which begins at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.
Dance the Wind figures to be a solid favorite for Lausten in the fillies division Saturday, and although Ruffy Joe is stretching out to a middle distance for the first time, he looks like the one to beat Sunday.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There are just two weeks left before the Hastings meet ends Oct. 14, and local trainers are making plans for the winter.
Turf Paradise has become the place to go, and there will be a strong contingent from Hastings when that meet opens on Oct. 5. Last year trainer Phil Hall led Hastings-based trainers there with 19 wins for earnings of $146,868. The guaranteed sunshine is just one of the reasons Hall and what seems like half of the Hastings backstretch find Turf Paradise attractive.
