Jockey John Velazquez, sidelined since sustaining a broken collarbone in a spill at Churchill Downs on June 16, will begin getting on horses in the morning next week at Saratoga, but stopped short of saying if he would be ready to return to race-riding by the July 20 opening of the meet.
On Monday, Velazquez met with Dr. Stephen O’Brien at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, who cleared him to begin getting on horses next Monday at Saratoga.
Royal Delta, who won the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap by eight lengths in her last start, worked five furlongs in 1:01.75 Monday morning over Belmont Park’s main track.
Trainer Bill Mott said that Royal Delta would most likely make her next start in the $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 21.
“We’ve certainly been leaning in that direction all along and just monitoring her progress and well being,” Mott said. “She seems to be fine. She ran awfully big last time and we want to make sure everything’s in good order before we run, but it seems to be.”
Cozze Up Lady will be looking for her second consecutive win in the $125,000 Indiana Distaff on Wednesday’s closing night card at Indiana Downs.
The Distaff is one of two open stakes on a 13-race card that includes four stakes for Indiana-breds.
The Bret Calhoun-trained Cozze Up Lady won a one-mile turf allowance in her last out June 8 at Churchill Downs, the same surface and distance as the Distaff. Prior to that victory, she finished fourth, beaten 1 1/4 lengths going 1 1/8 miles at Churchill. Calhoun was pleased with both efforts.
ELMONT, N.Y. – If the connections of Suburban Handicap winner Mucho Macho Man continue to manage their colt as they have thus far, it would appear that he is more likely to run in the Woodward at Saratoga on Sept. 1 than the Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 4. Both races are worth $750,000 and run at 1 1/8 miles.
Even if that turns out to be the case, the Whitney will not be lacking for quality or quantity.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Lone Star Park reported a decline of nearly 11 percent in average daily handle on its races from all sources during the 53-date meet that closed Sunday, but officials said they were pleased with the season because it hit its marks on major event days.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Classic Bryce, who finished eighth in the Queen’s Plate, made a return trip from Woodbine to Fort Erie on Monday morning to get a taste of the track there before Sunday’s Prince of Wales Stakes.
The Prince of Wales, which follows the Queen’s Plate as the second leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, will be run over 1 3/16 miles on Fort Erie’s dirt surface.
Irish Mission and Dixie Strike, the 2-3 finishers in the 1 1/4-mile Queen’s Plate here June 24, are the leading candidates in a prospective field of nine for the Prince of Wales.
AUBURN, Wash. - Class Included solidified her standing as the top filly or mare at Emerald Downs with a runaway victory Sunday in the $50,000 Boeing Handicap.
Winning for the third time in four starts this year, Class Included cruised home with a 2 1/2-length cushion over fast-closing stablemate Sweet Nellie Brown, who was nearly three lengths clear of Carrabelle Harbor in the field of seven.
Class Included, the wagering favorite for the ninth consecutive time, ran one mile in 1:34.48 and paid $4.20.
Considering that five of the eight 3-year-old fillies entered in Wednesday’s $50,000 Walking in Da Sun overnight stakes at Delaware Park finished first or second in their most recent outing, there’s no shortage of good form on dirt, turf, and synthetic surfaces. That also makes for a wide range of possibilities for handicappers trying to pin down the right horse.
The two strongest credentials belong to the fillies who will break from posts 1 and 2 in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, partly because inside posts are preferable in turf routes at Delaware that begin from a chute.
Tempered Sapphire makes her seasonal debut in a first-level allowance race for fillies and mares that will serve as Wednesday’s feature at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew five horses and goes as the fifth race.
Tempered Sapphire closed out her 2-year-old season in style, winning the $50,000, one-mile Freedom of the City by 10 1/2 lengths on Oct. 11. The British Columbia-bred Tempered Sapphire was a maiden going into the race, but wasn’t that big of a surprise because she had shown solid improvement in her two starts leading into the race.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – After a subpar showing, Consolidator Joe could rebound in the only non-claiming race at Woodbine on Wednesday, a six-furlong starter allowance for horses who competed for $40,000 or less in 2011-12.
Consolidator Joe had a fabulous 2011 campaign, during which he won 5 of 7 starts and nearly $180,000 under the guidance of trainer Norm McKnight. He did the bulk of his damage against $50,000 3-year-olds, and was bestowed the honor of claimer of the year by the Toronto Thoroughbred Racing Club.
