LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lacking many opportunities to race on dirt beyond the Churchill Downs spring meet, Stealcase will prep Thursday for what his connections hope will be a berth in the June 16 Matt Winn Stakes.
“That’s the thinking, anyway,” said Norm Casse, who oversees the Churchill string trained by his father, Mark Casse. “We know it’s back fairly quick, but there’s really nothing for him after this. So we’re probably going to try for these two in a row and regroup after that.”
MIAMI – Nominations are out for the four stakes that make up the June 9 Summit of Speed Preview card, and they include such notable sprinters as Eclipse Award winner Musical Romance in the U Can Do It along with Apriority and Giant Ryan, both members of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint field, in the Ponche Handicap.
The four Summit of Speed Preview races serve as preps for the meet’s marquee event, the Summit of Speed, on July 7.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – It is a reach to compare a Grade 1 that was run Monday at Betfair Hollywood Park to a second-level allowance that will be run Thursday. Aside from the fact both are turf races for fillies and mares, the similarities are few.
But trainer Ben Cecil found one more parallel linking the Gamely Stakes to the $57,000 allowance that is the feature race Thursday.
Who is the allowance-race favorite?
“I think it is Simon’s filly, again,” Cecil said.
Singlet and Culotte, each a two-time stakes winner and both cutting back in distance following unsuccessful experiments in routes, are the prime contenders in Thursday’s $50,000 Beautiful Day Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Delaware Park.
ALBANY, Calif. – Awesome Gem had done just about everything in a 50-race career, but did something new in winning the $100,000 Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on Monday.
The multi-millionaire won on a disqualification for the first time in his career.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Belle Royale has such a low-key approach to the first half of her races that trainer Simon Callaghan almost describes her as lazy.
The second half of a race is a much different situation.
For the second time in as many months, Belle Royale closed from the rear of a field to win a turf stakes for females in Southern California.
She won the minor American Beauty Stakes at Santa Anita on April 7 in her American debut, and won the most prestigious race of her career in Monday’s $250,000 Gamely Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Roman Threat won his first stakes in Monday’s $100,000 Los Angeles Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park, leaving jockey Rafael Bejarano to question how much the promising sprinter can accomplish in coming months.
The Grade 3 Los Angeles Handicap was a milestone win for trainer Bob Baffert, his 84th at Hollywood Park. Baffert is tied with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas on the all-time list. The late Charles Whittingham won 222 stakes.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Nates Mineshaft returned to his front-running ways one race after a 20-length defeat and the result was a cruising, 7 1/4-length win in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap on Monday. Get in Da House finished second in the 1 1/16- mile race, edging Night Party by a half-length. The handicap was the richest race of the meet at Lone Star Park.
Startin Something settled just off the leaders outside into the turn, rallied four wide into the stretch, made the lead inside the eighth pole under Scott Speith, and drew away to a 1 3/4-length win in the $50,000 Angenora Stakes for Ohio-accredited fillies and mares on Monday afternoon at Thistledown.
