Wed, 05/30/2012 - 14:05

Penn National: Pollard's Boy primed for return in Danzig Stakes

Alyssa Spakowski/Equi-Photo
Pollard’s Boy will make his 3-year-old debut in Friday's $75,000 Danzig Stakes at Penn National.

Pollard’s Boy and Love Those Boots, both idle since producing career-best Beyer Speed Figures last fall, will try to pick up where they left off when they return in the Danzig, the first of two $75,000 stakes for Pennsylvania-breds sprinting six furlongs on Friday night’s card at Penn National.

Wed, 05/30/2012 - 13:39

Get in Da House targets $20,000 bonus tied to Remington's Governor's Cup

Get in Da House has one major objective this summer: the $200,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park on Aug. 11. He is the lone horse eligible for a $20,000 bonus tied to the race, and has several routes he can take to get there after running second in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap on Monday.

Wed, 05/30/2012 - 13:11

Golden Gate Fields: Hess's connection to Mohanna Breeze goes way back

Horse racing may be a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately game, but for trainer Bob Hess, there’s a 50-year history surrounding Mohanna Breeze, who will make her stakes debut Saturday against six California-bred 3-year-old fillies in the $100,000 Campanile at one mile on the turf.

Mohanna Breeze, by Vronsky out of Woman At Work, was conceived shortly before the death of Dick Probert, a legendary aviator and California horseman, at age 101. Probert and his wife, Nancy, and James and Judith Huarte bred the filly, who runs in Judith Huarte’s name.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 18:10

Churchill Downs: Furthest Land returning

Benoit & Associates
Furthest Land, with Julien Leparoux riding, wins the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in 2009.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Furthest Land, winner of the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile over the then-synthetic track at Santa Anita, will make his first start in more than a year when he will be part of a well-matched field in the seventh race Thursday at Churchill Downs, a $70,100 allowance scheduled for a mile on turf.

Furthest Land has earnings of $915,604, and his goal-oriented owner, Ken Ramsey, would like to hit the seven-figure mark with him if possible.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 17:57

Louisiana Downs notes: Free shuttle service for horses

Louisiana Downs will be offering a free shuttle service from the Evangeline Downs Training Center in Lafayette, La., to the Bossier City, La., track on Sundays. The shuttle is for horses racing at Louisiana Downs on Sundays, and is being offered for the month of June.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 17:50

Hollywood Park: Valenzuela must talk with stewards

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela must meet with Betfair Hollywood Park stewards Scott Chaney, Kim Sawyer, and Tom Ward this week before he can resume riding after a self-imposed break because of weight issues.

Valenzuela, 49, has not ridden since May 19. He took off his single mount on May 20, saying he was having difficulty making riding weight.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 16:45

Belmont Park: Terranova has promising import

ELMONT, N.Y. – Last Friday, trainer John Terranova and owner Samantha Regan teamed up for two winners on a nine-race Belmont Park card.

Thursday, Terranova and Regan, who races under the banner Newtown Anner Stud, send out an intriguing Irish import, Capeslew, in Belmont’s featured $77,000 first-level allowance race scheduled for 1 1/16 miles over the Widener turf course.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 16:17

Belmont Park notes: Bafferts enjoy un-Contested victory

Barbara D. Livingston
Contested scores a gate-to-wire victory in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park.

Trainer Bob Baffert said he also will take his time before figuring out what to do next with Contested, who went gate to wire on an uncontested lead to win Monday’s Grade 1 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies. Contested is owned by Jill Baffert, Bob’s wife.

“We’re not used to owning horses that good,” Bob Baffert said Tuesday from California. “We’re used to buying horses for $100,000 and selling them for $5,000.”

Contested, a daughter of Ghostzapper, has now won four consecutive races, ranging in distance from six furlongs to a mile.

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 16:16

Belmont Park: Options abound for It’s Tricky after Ogden Phipps Handicap victory

Barbara D. Livingston
It's Tricky won Monday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap by three-quarters of a length over Cash for Clunkers.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he will wait a little while before deciding where next to run It’s Tricky, who won Monday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap by three-quarters of a length over Cash for Clunkers.

There isn’t a Grade 1 opportunity for It’s Tricky in New York until late August – either the seven-furlong Ballerina or the 1 1/8-mile Personal Ensign – at Saratoga.