Sun, 04/15/2012 - 17:23

Santa Anita: Mizdirection may ship to New York for Just a Game

Benoit & Associates
Mike Puype says Mizdirection could travel to New York for the June 9 Just a Game on Belmont Park's turf course.

Mizdirection’s win in the Las Cienegas Handicap on the main track on Saturday will not result in a different focus for the 4-year-old filly’s career.

Trainer Mike Puype said on Sunday that Mizdirection will race mainly in turf stakes this year. He mentioned the $500,000 Just a Game Stakes over a mile on turf for fillies and mares at Belmont Park on June 9 as a possibility for her next start.

“She will be on the grass next time,” he said. “The Just a Game at Belmont would be under consideration.”

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 17:16

Santa Anita: Broken ribs will sideline Pedroza for about a month

ARCADIA, Calif.- Veteran jockey Martin Pedroza is expected to miss two to four weeks of racing after being unseated in a spill in Saturday’s ninth race.

Pedroza was diagnosed with two broken ribs and spent Saturday night in a hospital, according to his agent, Richie Silverstein. Apprentice jockey Eswan Flores, unseated from his mount in the same spill, took off his mounts on Sunday. Flores is expected to return to riding on Thursday, when racing resumes at Santa Anita.

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 15:51

Keeneland: Jockey Straight sustains shoulder injury in spill

LEXINGTON – Jockey Matthew Straight was admitted to first aid under his own power at Keeneland after he fell from a horse in the fifth race that attempted to leap over the inner rail of the turf course.

Family members with Straight as he was driven in the back of an ambulance to the first aid station located near the tunnel from the paddock to the track said that he “had a shoulder injury” but that he was “going to be fine.”

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 14:56

Aqueduct: Inherit the Gold outgames Isn't He Perfect in Action

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Inherit the Gold, ridden by Eddie Castrol, gets up by a head over Isn't He Perfect in the Action Stakes.

Entering Sunday’s $75,000 Action Stakes, trainer James Hooper described his New York-bred Inherit the Gold as “game.”

Most people who watched Sunday’s feature at Aqueduct would concur with that assessment after watching Inherit the Gold wear down Isn’t He Perfect - to whom he was spotting five pounds - to win the Action by a head. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to Tech Fall in third.

 The win was the second in four starts this year and 10th in 24 career races for Inherit the Gold, a 6-year-old son of Gold Token owned by Susanne Hooper, Glas-Tipp Stable, and Ochre House Stable.

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 14:25

Keeneland: Kentucky Derby prospect Union Rags arrives from Florida

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Michael Matz says he is uncertain whether Union Rags will work out over Keeneland's Polytrack or ship to Churchill Downs to work on dirt.

LEXINGTON, Ky.  -- Union Rags, the third-place finisher in the Florida Derby and a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby, arrived at Keeneland on Sunday morning after a long van ride from the Palm Meadows training center in Florida.

Michael Matz, the colt’s trainer, said that Union Rags arrived at his barn at Keeneland at 4:30 a.m. after an 18-hour trip and settled in “without a problem at all.”

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 12:26

Pimlico wants to add Arabian stakes to Preakness program

Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
TM Texas Fred won last year's President of the United Arab Emirates Cup when the race was worth $50,000 and was the first race for Arabians ever contested at Churchill Downs.

Pimlico plans to run a Grade 1 race for Arabian horses on its Preakness Day card on May 19.

As part of its 14-race program that is highlighted by the $1 million Preakness, Pimlico would like to add the $75,000 President of the United Arab Emirates Cup, a 1 1/16 mile race on the main track.

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 11:34

Keeneland: Romans gives Dullahan his nod as favorite for Kentucky Derby

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Blue Grass Stakes winner Dullahan earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dullahan earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes, the Grade 1 race that highlighted a record-setting day at historic Keeneland.

Trainer Dale Romans said Sunday morning that Dullahan came out of his 1 1/4-length victory over Hansen in good shape and that his newest stable star most likely will have one breeze at his home track, Churchill Downs, on April 28, the Saturday before the colt runs back as one of the top contenders in the 138th Kentucky Derby.

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 11:00

Oaklawn: Bodemeister, Secret Circle, Sabercat get green light for Kentucky Derby

Coady Photography
Bodemeister received a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the Arkansas Derby.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Bodemeister, Secret Circle, and Sabercat, the first three finishers, respectively, in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday, all came out of the race in good order and will share a plane ride to Kentucky on Monday morning to begin final preparations for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, their respective camps said Sunday morning at Oaklawn Park.

Sat, 04/14/2012 - 23:47

Charles Town: Caixa Eletronica captures $1 million Classic

Mike Montgomery
Caixa Eletronica, ridden by Javier Castellano, becomes a millionaire after collecting $576,000 for winning the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.

Trainer Todd Pletcher capped a roller-coaster of a day on a high Saturday night when Caixa Eletronica blew past Duke of Mischief in the stretch and drew clear to win the Grade 2, $1 million Charles Town Classic by three lengths.

Duke of Mischief, who won this race last year, finished second by 1 1/4 lengths over Mister Mardi Gras. Tackleberry finished fourth in this race for the second straight year, this time as the 8-5 favorite.

Uh Oh Bango finished fifth and was followed in the order of finish by Pants On Fire, Tres Borrachos, Norvsky, Skipshot, and Redding Colliery.

Sat, 04/14/2012 - 21:47

Charles Town: Flashy Dresser shoots through small gap to capture Robert Hilton Memorial

Mike Montgomery
Julien Leparoux and Flashy Dresser draw clear late to capture the $250,000 Robert Hilton Memorial for 3-year-olds.

There didn’t appear to be much room between Wild Louis on the rail and 44-1 longshot Mr. Handsome as they raced in deep stretch of Saturday night’ $250,000 Robert Hilton Memorial for 3-year-olds. Julien Leparoux, the riding star of the current Keeneland meet, figured that Flashy Dresser could squeeze through the narrow opening and the heavy favorite wasn’t one bit shy about shooting through the small gap.

The daring move paid off when Flashy Dresser ($3) burst between horses and reached the wire first by a length in the seven-furlong, two-turn race at Charles Town.