ELMONT, N.Y. – Michael Mareina’s decision to bring a 14-horse string to New York for the first time has certainly paid off, as the trainer has 2 wins and a third from his first 4 starters at the Belmont Park meet.
Wednesday, Mareina will seek to continue his good fortune here when he runs Divine Music for the first time in a $74,000 optional claiming/allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs. Of the six horses entered, four are being offered for the optional claiming price of $50,000 including Divine Music.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Guyana Star Dweej became the final prospective Belmont Stakes starter to work prior to the race when breezing an uninspiring half-mile in 49.30 seconds with new rider Kent Desormeaux aboard immediately after the renovation break Monday at Belmont Park.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – There was more than a touch of irony in conjunction with Irish Mission’s victory in Sunday’s $500,000 Woodbine Oaks for trainer Mark Frostad.
Frostad had sent out Woodbine Oaks winners Catch the Ring (2000), Dancethruthedawn (2001), and Eye of the Sphynx (2004) after hooking up with the Sam-Son Farm outfit in 1994. But that association came to an end prior to the start of the current meeting, and Frostad seemed to be facing a rebuilding year as a public trainer.
Jockey Rico Walcott had to make a tough call when choosing between Minutesandtouches and Alisal who stand out in a second-level allowance race that will serve as Wednesday’s feature at Northlands Park. The six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses, but it is hard to get past Minutesandtouches and Alisal.
Minutesandtouches, an easy winner of a first-level allowance race May 18, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite. Nonetheless, Walcott opted to ride Alisal.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Hansen, last year's 2-year-old champion who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby, will miss a scheduled start in Saturday's Grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park because of a low blood count, trainer Mike Maker said Monday.
"His blood is a little out of whack," Maker said by phone Monday from Kentucky. "He gave us an indication something was wrong, we pulled a blood on him, and he was not 100 percent. We'll wait a little bit to run him."
Maker said that Hansen did not have to be taken out of training.
AUBURN, Wash. - Makors Finale and D’honorable One were fit to be tied Sunday at Emerald Downs. The speedy 3-year-old colts hooked up with three furlongs to run in the $50,000 Auburn Handicap and duked it out around the turn and through the length of the stretch before reaching the wire together - the second dead heat in a stakes race in the track’s 16-plus-year history.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The return of Holy Candy and Liaision was overshadowed by the winning stakes debut of Nonios in Sunday’s $100,000 Affirmed Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Making his first start outside away from Golden Gate Fields, Nonios ($33.80) had an ideal trip in the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap for 3-year-olds, closing between horses in early stretch to win by a half-length over even-money Liaison.
Streakin’ Mohican, who was a $32,000 claim in April, became a stakes winner in his first start for his new connections on Sunday, when he dominated the $40,000 Arapahoe Park Sprint.
He won by four lengths over No It Aint, while it was another three lengths back in third to Pack Your Bags.
Streakin’ Mohican ($4) led the field throughout in the six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up, setting fractions of 21.65 seconds for the opening quarter and 44.07 for the half-mile. He jetted home clear of his rivals, covering the distance on a track rated fast in 1:08.53.
King Kreesa led from start to finish while I Bet Toni Knows rallied from second-to-last as the two 3-year-olds won divisions of Sunday’s New York Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park.
In the $75,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes for males, King Kreesa, under Irad Ortiz Jr., broke on top from his outside post, was able to carve out sensible fractions, and finished very strong to win by five lengths over Western Tryst. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to Wild Exploit in third.
