HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Putting together a long winning streak at the highest levels of competition is a notable accomplishment in its own right. Doing so over an extended period of time in the gritty manner that Little Mike has won four straight races and six of his last seven starts over the past 14 months is all the more remarkable.
Cease has compiled an impeccable record at 1 1/8 miles, and on Saturday night he will be returning to that distance for the $150,000 Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston Race Park. Cease is one of eight older horses set to start in what is the richest main-track race of the meet. Others include Coyote Legend, a winner of four of his last five starts, and Gleam of Hope, who has placed in three stakes in his last four starts, his latest races coming at Fair Grounds.
Here's my race-by-race rundown of Saturday's late pick four at Santa Anita Park. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.
Gleam of Hope and Cease will be invading Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night for the $150,000 Maxxam Gold Cup. They will be part of an eight-horse field for the richest dirt race of the meet. The Maxxam, at a mile and an eighth, will go as the ninth race, with a scheduled post of 10:28 p.m. Central.
Gleam of Hope last raced on Jan. 21, and finished fourth in the $100,000 Louisiana Handicap. Before that race, he missed by a nose in the $72,000 Tenacious, also at Fair Grounds. Gleam of Hope will break from the rail, with trainer Michael Stidham giving the mount to James Graham.
Trainer Graham Motion had two horses he was considering for Saturday's Gotham at Aqueduct, but ultimately did not enter either one.
Earlier in the week, Motion thought about running Cop a Tude, who is 2 for 2, and Went the Day Well, a New York-bred maiden.
Though Cop a Tude won twice at Laurel, Motion thought running him in a full field in the Gotham would be “throwing him to the wolves.” Instead, Motion plans to run him in the Private Terms on March 17 at Laurel Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher is used to playing the role of hunted when it comes to graded stakes races. This weekend, at Aqueduct, Pletcher will play the role of hunter in a trio of graded events at Aqueduct.
In the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham, Pletcher will send out Raconteur and Dan and Sheila against Hansen, the champion 2-year-old male of 2011.
Earlier on the card, Pletcher will saddle Calibrachoa against Caleb’s Posse in the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap and Love and Pride against It’s Tricky in the Grade 2, $200,000 Top Flight Handicap.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Wayne Catalano and owner Ken Ramsey have confirmed that the first major goal this season for their 3-year-old filly Stephanie’s Kitten will not be the Kentucky Oaks but the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 22.
Jockey Garrett Gomez, sidelined since Jan. 8 because of injuries to his left heel and ankle, has targeted March 8 or 10 for his comeback, he said on Wednesday.
Gomez had hoped to return to riding by Saturday, aboard Jeranimo in the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile, but will wait until next week, pending doctor’s clearance.
“He wants to take some more X-rays and see how it is before he clears me,” Gomez said of his doctor.
Vann Belvoir, a former leading trainer at Emerald Downs in Washington state, plans to relocate his entire stable to Southern California this year, he said earlier this week.
Belvoir, 38, has had a division in Southern California since last summer, but also had divisions at Emerald Downs and Golden Gate Fields.
Those divisions will not operate this year.
He described the full-time move to Southern California as “an opportunity that everyone wants to have. This is the big leagues. You want to be here.”
