DEL MAR, Calif. – The difference between the exercise put forth by Richard’s Kid on Friday evening and Game On Dude on Saturday morning at Del Mar was that Richard’s Kid earned prize money for his effort.
Richard’s Kid won the Grade 3, $100,000 Cougar II Handicap in track-record time, running 1 1/2 miles in 2:29.22. He won by 1 1/2 lengths, with minimal effort.
The field of 2-year-old fillies at Presque Isle Downs on Tuesday evening may number only seven, but it should make for a interesting betting race when Baby Princess, and four of the others, try to win their second consecutive races. The allowance event for 2-year-old fillies who have never won twice will be contested at 5 1/2 furlongs.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Richard’s Kid had an ideal trial race for the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 26 in Friday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar, winning his second stakes of the year with minimal effort.
Richard’s Kid won the Pacific Classic in 2009 and 2010 and will be a leading contender in this year’s running.
Ridden by Rafael Bejarano on Friday, Richard’s Kid ($2.80) closed from last in a field of six in the final three furlongs to win the race over 1 1/2 miles on the Polytrack main surface in track-record time of 2:29.22.
The richest weekend of racing of the long year at Penn National in Grantville, Pa., got under way Friday evening with three stakes, all for female runners. Here is a recap of those Friday races:
* $100,000 Red Carpet: Martita Sangrita ($16.40), with Luis Garcia riding, rallied from mid-pack to overtake Clare Skies Ahead in this 1 1/16-mile turf race, with Safe Crossing, the front-runner and 17-10 favorite, fading to third. The winner is owned by the Lael Stables and is trained by Leigh Delacour.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Chad Brown chose to run Street Life in Friday’s $100,000 Curlin Stakes over more prestigious races because he felt it was his best chance to go into next month’s Travers Stakes on a winning note.
Even when several prominent horses dropped out of the Jim Dandy and Haskell Invitational, Brown stuck to his original guns.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Those looking for a 2-year-old colt to bet on in 2014 should remember the name Jess’s Dream.
That’s the name of the resulting foal from the mating of champions Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, who was born earlier this year.
The colt was named after Jess Jackson, who owned Curlin, the Horse of the Year in 2007-08, and Rachel Alexandra, the Horse of the Year in 2009.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.- After suffering narrow setbacks at the hands of arch rival Gitchee Goomie in each of her last two starts, Hessonite got a bit of a breather on Friday, cruising to an easy 4 1/4-length victory over Inimitable Romance in the $100,000 Irish Linnet stakes decided over a yielding turf course at Saratoga.
[Complete coverage of racing at Saratoga: News, PPs, and video]
DEL MAR, Calif. - Quiet Oasis, the winner of two graded stakes for turf females at Hollywood Park earlier this year, has been turned out for the rest of the year after undergoing surgery to have a bone chip removed from a knee, trainer Ben Cecil said.
“She’s out for three months and won’t run again until next year,” Cecil said.
[Complete coverage of racing at Del Mar: News, PPs, and video]
AUBURN, Wash. – While many 2-year-olds are still taking baby steps at Emerald Downs, a group of the most promising will be put to an early test Sunday in the $50,000 Premio Esmeralda Stakes for colts and geldings. The six-furlong sprint is the eighth of nine races on a card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.
[bc_video_id:258360:]OCEANPORT, N.J. – Get Serious, back in winning form, bids for a third victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Oceanport Stakes on Sunday on the Haskell undercard at Monmouth Park.
The other supporting events include the Grade 3, $150,000 Matchmaker for fillies and mares on the turf and a pair of $100,000 overnight stakes: the Majestic Light and the Teddy Drone.
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