Thu, 06/14/2012 - 15:28

Hollywood Park: Vanity can enhance Include Me Out's already strong reputation

Shigeki Kikkawa
Include Me Out is among the favorites for Saturday's Grade 2 Marjorie Everett Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – With three consecutive graded stakes wins this year, Include Me Out has a rightful position on the short list of leading older females in the nation.

A 4-year-old filly, Include Me Out can climb even higher in the rankings with a win in Saturday’s $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 15:27

Monmouth Park: Wild Bout Tiffany may be right back

MIAMI – Trainer Bill Kaplan obviously believes in the old adage of striking while the iron is hot.

Last weekend, Kaplan brought Another Romance back off an allowance victory on just one week’s rest to upset the Leave Me Alone Stakes. He may employ a similar tactic on Saturday, having entered Wild Bout Tiffany, winner of the U Can Do It Handicap last weekend at Calder, right back in the $55,000 Cool Air Stakes, which is carded to be run at five furlongs on the turf.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 15:23

Churchill Downs: Matt Winn Stakes field tough to separate

Tom Keyser
Right to Vote is the only non-Lasix horse in the field for the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eoin Harty nominated Endorsement to the Stephen Foster Handicap, and he nominated Right to Vote to the Matt Winn Stakes. A quick glance at the Saturday night program speaks to how he followed up.

“The Stephen Foster is about as tough a Grade 1 as I’ve seen in a while, probably tougher than the Breeders’ Cup Classic was last year,” Harty said. “And the other race came up easier than I envisioned.”

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 15:07

Churchill Downs: Is Royal Delta ready to regain form in Fleur de Lis?

Barbara D. Livingston
Royal Delta is scheduled for a flight to Dubai on Tuesday evening.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last time Royal Delta raced at Churchill Downs in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic on Nov. 4, no one could contend with her, and she romped by 2 1/2 lengths, defeating such standout mares as It’s Tricky, Pachattack, and Plum Pretty.

Matched against a lesser field Saturday evening in the Grade 2, $150,000 Fleur De Lis Handicap on the Stephen Foster undercard at Churchill, an effort even remotely close to her Breeders’ Cup performance should result in an easy, short-priced victory.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:50

Monmouth Park: Quick Flip carefully spotted

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Terri Pompay did a little comparative shopping and decided the $60,000 Just Smashing Stakes was a better deal for Quick Flip.

The race for 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs tops the Saturday card at Monmouth Park.

This will be the first start for Quick Flip since a distant fifth in the Grade 2 Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park in late January. She ran three times in Florida over the winter, winning the Sandpiper at Tampa Bay Downs before running a competitive fourth in the Grade 3 Old Hat at Gulfstream.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:47

Colonial Downs: Motion opts for turf with Pachattack

Pachattack’s form on Polytrack looks a lot better than her two starts on turf the past two seasons. Nevertheless, the 6-year-old Pachattack figures to be one of the favorites in Saturday’s Grade 3 Edward P. Evans All Along Stakes at Colonial Downs.

Although Pachattack is cross-entered in Saturday’s Obeah on the main track at Delaware Park, Motion said Thursday she will likely run in the All Along.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:43

Churchill Downs: Wise Dan aims to continue roll in deep Stephen Foster Handicap

Coady Photography/Keeneland
Wise Dan, the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, earned a 117 Beyer Speed Figure in his last start, the Ben Ali Stakes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The sun won’t shine bright Saturday night on the Grade 1 race named in honor of the man who wrote the famous song “My Old Kentucky Home,” but that doesn’t mean the race will lack luster. In fact, star power of the older-horse kind will be very much in evidence under the Churchill Downs lights when Wise Dan, Alternation, and several other accomplished older runners clash in the 31st running of the $400,000 Stephen Foster Handicap.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:18

Delaware Park: Tiz Miz Sue a proven winner on the main track

Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography
Tiz Miz Sue, with Joe Rocco Jr. riding, wins the Azeri.

One of the few certainties about the field for Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Obeah Stakes is that Tiz Miz Sue has an affinity for Delaware Park’s main track.

With track monring-line 7-5 favorite Pachattack unlikely to run because she is cross-entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 All Along on turf at Colonial Downs, Tiz Miz Sue could wind up a much shorter price than her morning-line odds of 9-5.

The 1 1/8-mile Obeah serves as the local prep for the meet’s premier event, the Grade 2, $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 21.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:15

Northlands: Dougs Buddy risks unbeaten local mark in Western Canada

Dougs Buddy will try to keep his unblemished record at Northlands Park intact when he runs in the $50,000 Western Canada Handicap Saturday. It will be his first start since he suffered his only defeat, which came in the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs last Nov. 19. If he runs back to the form he displayed in four starts at Northlands, he’ll be tough to handle in the six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, which drew five horses.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 14:07

Lincoln: T Jays Affair back for Matchmaker

T Jays Affair makes a return a trip from her base at Prairie Meadows to head a field of eight older Nebraska-bred fillies and mares in the $15,000-added Matchmaker Stakes on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Race Course.