GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Following the close of the Lone Star Park meet on Sunday, the Texas Thoroughbred racing calendar will become nearly dormant for three months. With the exception of a fair meet racing four weekends between July and August, there will be no major track in the state running Thoroughbreds until Retama Park near San Antonio opens on Oct. 5.
AUBURN, Wash. – The Noosa Beach saga took an unexpected turn this week when the two-time Washington horse of the year was sidelined because of injuries apparently sustained when he flipped in the starting gate before his scheduled start in the Budweiser Handicap at Emerald Downs on June 17.
Noosa Beach’s injuries were first believed to be superficial, but trainer Doris Harwood said the horse wasn’t up to par in a workout eight days later. Harwood, who trains Noosa Beach for her husband, Jeff, sent the horse home to their farm in Auburn, with no timetable for his return.
Cactus Cut goes for the hat track when he runs in a $10,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Sunday’s feature at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew nine horses and goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Mountain time.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Belle Royale, who has emerged as the leading turf female in California in recent months, faces an uncertain future after being diagnosed with a tendon injury earlier this week.
Trainer Simon Callaghan said a decision on whether the 4-year-old Belle Royale stays in training or is retired and bred in 2013 will be made later this year, after the injury is reassessed.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Tamarind Hall returns to the site of her biggest career victory Sunday when she runs in the $85,000 Chaldea Stakes at Belmont Park.
On July 3, 2011, Tamarind Hall rolled to a 5 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses Handicap here at odds of 15-1. She would finish third in the Ballerina and second in the Gallant Bloom before running 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
She went through the auction ring in November and was purchased privately by R.J. and Kelcey Roberts and turned over to trainer David Fawkes.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Lemon Hero fell a neck short of winning the Manhattan Beach Stakes for turf sprinters on June 9, a loss that both frustrated and encouraged trainer Peter Eurton.
Another few strides and Lemon Hero might have caught race winner Byrama. Instead, Lemon Hero is only stakes-placed, but obviously capable of more when she starts in Sunday’s $68,000 Le Cle Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park.
MIAMI – Bellefire did everything wrong a horse could possibly do in a race and still win when capturing his entry-level allowance condition last month. Trainer Leo Azpurua Jr. is hoping the talented but still immature 3-year-old will be a bit better behaved when stepping up to the next level and returning to grass for Sunday’s $29,000 allowance feature at Calder.
A major stakes winner at 3, Pk Fire is among a group of older Quarter Horses who will be judged this year by one measure – whether they qualify for the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in December.
Sunday, Pk Fire starts in the $200,000 Vessels Maturity at Los Alamitos as the fastest qualifier from the June 17 trials. At stake in the 400-yard final is an automatic berth to the Champion of Champions, a race that annually plays a pivotal role in the voting for year-end championships.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Fort Erie’s Prince of Wales Stakes has gained a probable new player in Quaesitor, a 3-year-old gelding who is based here at Woodbine with trainer Ian Howard.
Quaesitor is a homebred who races for the Wayward Stable of Howard’s mother, Nancy; sister, Gillian; and Donald Ross, and would have to be supplemented to the Prince of Wales at a cost of $12,500.
“Originally I wasn’t going to go, and I didn’t spend the $1,000 to nominate him,” said Howard. “Then I thought, ‘Why not?’ ”
PLEASANTON, Calif. – Trainer Jeff Bonde has three entrants in Sunday’s $50,000-added Everett Nevin Alameda County Futurity for 2-year-olds on the closing day of the Alameda County Fair.
Two of Bonde’s runners will be making their second starts, and one is making his debut.
The first-timer is Backstreet Boss, whom Bonde purchased for $28,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale in April. Described by his trainer as a “nice horse,” Backstreet Boss has 10 works over the Pleasanton track, including an impressive 46.80 half-mile bullet drill on June 7.
