Fri, 04/27/2012 - 15:26

Hollywood Park: Nereid returns as Wilshire favorite

Benoit & Associates
Nereid will make her first start since last fall in Sunday’s Grade 3 Wilshire Handicap at Hollywood Park.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Three top females trained by John Shirreffs will play leading roles this summer in California turf stakes.

Nereid, Star Billing, and Harmonious – remember them? – have not raced in more than five months. But the end of winter marks the return of Shirreffs’s Grade 1-winning trio, and Nereid is first off the bench Sunday at Betfair Hollywood Park.

“She was the first one back in training, so she’s the first one ready,” Shirreffs said.

As the 121-pound topweight, the Grade 3 Wilshire Handicap at a mile on grass is Nereid’s for the taking.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 15:15

How to bet the Betfair Hollywood Park Pick 4 - April 28, 2012

Here's my race-by-race rundown of Saturday's pick four at Betfair Hollywood Park on April 28, 2012. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com, with a $100 budget and $0.50 incremental bets.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:59

Kentucky Oaks: Hard Not to Like works at Woodbine

Ashland Stakes runner-up Hard Not to Like had her final tune-up for the Kentucky Oaks at Woodbine on Friday morning, going five furlongs in 1:01.60 on the dirt training track.

Luis Contreras was aboard for the drill but Robby Albarado has the call for the Kentucky Oaks, a 1 1/8-mile race which offers Grade 1 status and a purse of $1 million.

Hard Not to Like, trained by Gail Cox, is scheduled to ship out for Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning.

 

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:54

Kentucky Derby: Trinniberg arrives from Florida

Trinniberg, the likely pacesetter in this year’s Kentucky Derby, arrived at Churchill Downs shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday following a 16 1/2 hour van ride from Miami.

Owner Shivnanda Parbhoo, who drove the van, said the trip was uneventful and that Trinniberg walked “very strong and looked very healthy” on Friday morning. He is scheduled to visit the track for the first time on Saturday.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:50

Churchill Downs: Groupie Doll tunes up for Humana Distaff

Groupie Doll, winner of the Grade 1 Vinery Madison at Keeneland when equipped with blinkers for the first time in her last start, worked a half-mile Friday morning at Churchill Downs in 47 seconds in tuning up for her next race, the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Former jockey Larry Melancon was aboard for the breeze.

“I really liked the way she went,” said trainer Buff Bradley. “Larry said he never moved on her, that she did everything right. That’s about all she’ll need off that last race.”

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:42

Woodbine: Tiller tests Casa Loma on short rest

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Bob Tiller has gotten off to a fast start at the Woodbine meet. Heading into this week, he led the standings with six wins from 24 starters, good for a 25 percent win average.

Tiller will try to notch his first stakes at the meet on Sunday, when he saddles Casa Loma in the $150,000 Fury, a seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:42

Indiana Downs: Mare has three foals win in four-day span

Owners Steve Markwell and Sam Froedge recently won three races at Indiana Downs with homebreds who are out of the same mare, There Runs Hattie.

Markwell and Froedge purchased There Runs Hattie at the 2000 Keeneland September yearling sale for $25,000 and she went on to be graded stakes placed while winning nearly $240,000. When her racing career was over, the partners decided to breed her.

“She is really well bred, being by Rahy out of a Green Dancer mare, so we decided rather than sell her, we would breed her ourselves,” Markwell said.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 14:39

Belmont Park: Fiddlers Afleet ships in for Carr Heaven

Dustin Orona/Remington Park
Fiddlers Afleet will return to Belmont Park for Sunday’s $90,000 Carr Heaven Stakes.

New York Showcase Day isn’t until October, but Sunday’s $90,000 Carr Heaven overnight stakes offers a preview of the Empire Classic as the six veterans in the 1 1/16-mile race have won 43 of 150 starts and more than $2.2 million.

The leading earner is Fiddlers Afleet, a California shipper claimed out of a win for $40,000 by John Sadler earlier this month.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 13:59

Hastings: Wando Woman seeks to leave gate issues behind

Four-Footed Fotos
Wando Woman makes her first start of 2012 in an allowance race Sunday at Hastings.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Wando Woman makes her seasonal debut in an allowance race Sunday at Hastings, and trainer Cindy Krasner will be keenly focused on the start of the race.

Krasner is aware that Wando Woman, who has absolutely no speed, is going to be last early and is unlikely to get up in time in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint. It is just how Wando Woman comes out of the gate that Krasner is concerned about.

Fri, 04/27/2012 - 12:56

Churchill Downs: Catalano optimistic Sacristy can handle longer distance of Kentucky Oaks

Barbara D. Livingston
Sacristy heads a field of seven entered for Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Forward Gal Stakes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sacristy has joined the prospective field for the 138th Kentucky Oaks after working seven furlongs Friday morning in 1:29 at Churchill Downs in preparation for what will be a daunting first try in a two-turn race.

“She’s feeling good and doing good, so that’s when you’re supposed to try them, right?” asked Wayne Catalano, who trains Sacristy for the Peachtree Stable of John Fort. “I don’t know about the distance for her, but a mile and an eighth might be questionable for a lot of those fillies.”