Like mother, like daughter. That’s what the connections of Midge Four are hoping for with the 3-year-old filly, whose start in Thursday’s fifth race at Louisiana Downs could serve as her springboard to the Aug. 18 Louisiana Breeders’ Oaks, a race Midge Four’s dam, Midge Too, won back in 1999.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Jaycito, who has promised far more than he has delivered since Baffert took over as his trainer 1 1/2 years ago, ended a five-race losing streak and scored only his second victory in an allowance race on Sunday under Joe Talamo.
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Trainer Bob Baffert said he could add Jaycito to his lengthy list of candidates for the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 26, including Coil, Game On Dude, Prayer for Relief, Richard’s Kid, and Take Control.
DEL MAR, Claif. - Half-sisters to both Coil and Indian Blessing are among the 3-year-old fillies making their debuts in Thursday’s fifth race at six furlongs.
Level Headed, a daughter of Eddington, is out of the Theatrical mare Eversmile, who produced Coil, the Haskell winner who returns an hour later in the featured seventh race. Like Coil, Level Headed was bred by Glen Hill Farm, which sold Coil privately following his career debut. Tom Proctor, Coil’s original trainer, trains Level Headed.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Options remain open for the second start of Willcox Inn’s 2012 campaign, trainer Mike Stidham said Tuesday, but what’s certain is that Willcox Inn will step back into graded turf stakes competition in his next run. And from the appearance of his comeback race this past Sunday at Arlington, his progress should be worth following.
DEL MAR, Calif. – There will a good old-fashioned shootout at Del Mar on Sunday afternoon, when the speedy The Factor takes on defending sprint champion Amazombie in the Grade 1, $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – St. John’s River is taking a step back in hopes of being able to move forward later in the year.
After competing in six consecutive graded stakes – finishing in the top three in five of them – St. John’s River heads a nine-horse field entered in a $90,000 second-level allowance that goes as race 2 on Thursday’s 10-race program at Saratoga. The race is scheduled for 1 1/8 miles over the main track.
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DEL MAR, Calif. – At Del Mar racetrack the past week or so, a chestnut colored colt has caught the eye every morning during training hours. Even people who haven’t been around horses couldn’t help but notice and then wonder, “Who’s that?”
On Thursday, they’ll get to see him in action.
The striking Coil, last year’s Haskell Invitational winner, makes his first start of the year in an optional-claiming race at seven furlongs, the seventh race on the eight-race card.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A pair of Kentucky invaders, Full and Manly, have come to New York for the summer where they will square off as the likely favorites in Thursday’s $100,000 Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga. In addition to the Quick Call, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds, the 10-race program will also feature the first hurdle race of the meet, the $75,000 Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes.
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Jockey Tammi Piermarini moved into third on the list of all-time winningest female riders Monday with a three-win day at Suffolk Downs.
By bringing her career win total to 2,139, she passed Patti Cooksey and now sits behind Hall of Famer Julie Krone (3,704) and still-active Rosemary Homeister (2,527).
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Safety and Integrity Alliance has re-accredited Monmouth Park in New Jersey, the NTRA announced on Tuesday. The re-accreditation is good for two years. Monmouth is the 16th racetrack to be re-accredited by the alliance, which requires tracks to comply with a list of standards developed by the organization in a range of areas related to safety practices.
