Thu, 03/01/2012 - 16:20

Fair Grounds: Little Ms Protocol could be a vulnerable favorite

Little Ms Protocol is likely to start as a deserving favorite Saturday in the $60,000 Sarah Lane’s Oates, the featured race at Fair Grounds, but the characteristic that makes her look fairly formidable on paper – her level of accomplishment – is the same thing that suggests others might have a chance in the one-mile grass race for Louisiana-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 16:16

Aqueduct: Caleb's Posse prepping for Carter in Tom Fool

Tom Keyser
Caleb's Posse, with Rajiv Maragh up, wins the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Caleb’s Posse will likely be favored when he makes his 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap over Aqueduct’s inner track, but trainer Donnie Von Hemel makes no bones that he’s using this as a prep race for the Grade 1 Carter over the main track on April 7.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 16:05

Santa Anita: Jeranimo looks for first run on Mr. Commons in Kilroe Mile

Shigeki Kikkawa
Jeranimo will be looking for his second upset victory over Mr. Commons in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. – For the first time in his career, trainer Mike Pender will start two horses in two Grade 1 races Saturday at Santa Anita.

One horse is an anti-social, future stallion that charges the webbing when any filly walks past. Ultimate Eagle, game face on, is favored for the Santa Anita Handicap, race 11.

Thirty minutes earlier in race 10, Pender starts a fun-loving goof who also happens to be a leading contender in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, race 10. Jeranimo may not be as brilliant as his stablemate, but he is a lot more fun to spend time with.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 16:01

Santa Anita: Public workout for Santa Anita Derby prospect I’ll Have Another

I’ll Have Another, the upset winner of the Grade 2 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4, will work six furlongs after the seventh race on Saturday, trainer Doug O’Neill said.

Owned by Paul Reddam, I’ll Have Another is being pointed for the Santa Anita Derby.

“It’s a little experience in front of a good-sized crowd,” O’Neill said of the workout. “He came out of the Bob Lewis in great shape. His stride is as long as ever and he’s full of energy. He seems like he’s up to taking on the big-time horses.”

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 15:59

Santa Anita: Awesome Gem will target Charles Town Classic

\The 9-year-old veteran handicap star Awesome Gem is missing from Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap, but won’t be gone from the division for too much longer.

Training at Santa Anita with Craig Dollase, Awesome Gem is scheduled to return to racing this spring, with his first major goal the $1 million Charles Town Classic over 1 1/8 miles in West Virginia on April 14.

“We plan to run him at the end of March,” Dollase said. “We’re talking about the Charles Town race. We’ll see how it goes.”

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 15:55

Oaklawn: Exfactor shortening up for Gazebo

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park on Saturday offers a reprieve from the 3-year-old route-racing mania that envelops the calendar each spring leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The track is putting young sprinters in the spotlight instead, with the running of the $60,000 Gazebo.

Exfactor, a Grade 3 winner at one-turn, and Mighty Monsoon, who is Grade 2-placed sprinting, are part of a strong, nine-horse field for the six-furlong race formerly called named the Mountain Valley. The field also includes Lake Victor, a runner building a win streak for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 15:32

Aqueduct: It's Tricky finds softer spot for return in Top Flight

Barbara D. Livingston
It's Tricky will make her first start of 2012 in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin only stayed at the University of Kentucky for one year, but he didn’t need a degree in mathematics to realize Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct was a much better spot for It’s Tricky to return to the races than last week’s Sabin Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Not only does It’s Tricky get to run for twice the purse, she faces infinitely easier competition than the likes of Awesome Maria and champion Royal Delta, who ran 1-2 in last week’s Sabin.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 15:26

Gulfstream: Dialed In, Pants On Fire to meet in their returns

Barbara D. Livingston
Dialed In will have stiff competition on Saturday, his first start since the 2011 Preakness.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dialed In and Pants On Fire won two of the most prestigious prep races on last year’s Kentucky Derby trail and ultimately wound up finishing just a neck apart when they met for the first and only time in the Kentucky Derby. Their paths will cross again here at Gulfstream on Saturday when both horses return from lengthy vacations to launch their 2012 campaigns in a high-priced optional claimer over the main track.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 15:11

Santa Anita: Sadler considers maiden Holy Candy a Triple Crown prospect

Shigeki Kikkawa
Holy Candy could jump into a stakes such as the Spiral at Turfway Park or the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne if he wins his maiden impressively Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Holy Candy is still a maiden – and still very much on the Triple Crown trail from the perspective of trainer John Sadler.

In Saturday’s second race at Santa Anita, Holy Candy will be heavily favored to win a maiden race over 1 1/16 miles, which could lead to a major stakes appearance in late March or early April. Judging from the competition he has faced, Holy Candy will be difficult to oppose on Saturday.

Thu, 03/01/2012 - 14:44

Santa Anita Handicap: Ultimate Eagle hardly a longshot anymore

Shigeki Kikkawa
Ultimate Eagle has three graded stakes victories to his credit, most recently the 1 1/8-mile Strub on dirt.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Ultimate Eagle was largely ignored by bettors as he amassed three graded stakes wins from mid-October to early February, going off at 34-1, 14-1, and 7-1 in those races.

Those days are long gone.

When Ultimate Eagle starts as the 120-pound highweight in Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap, Ultimate Eagle will be the favorite to win the richest and most prestigious race of his career. Getting to these kind of races, a Grade 1 over 1 1/4 miles, is what owner B.J. Wright and trainer Mike Pender envisioned all along for the 4-year-old colt.