Bluegrass Atatude may have thrown a clunker when she was beaten almost 15 lengths at 8-5 odds in her turf debut 3 1/2 weeks ago. But her previous dirt form and a recent five-furlong bullet workout over Laurel Park’s main track stamp her a serious contender in Saturday’s $75,000 Smart Halo Stakes for 2-year-old Maryland-bred fillies.
Trained by John Salzman Jr., Bluegrass Atatude is the lone stakes winner in a field of nine going six furlongs on the main track.
Drill will be the most accomplished horse to ever start in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on Saturday, but despite the presence of a Grade 1 winner the race looks far from lopsided. Drill is looking to rebound from a 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and has nine developing 2-year-olds to fend off in the Jackpot.
Recent millionaire Russell Road heads a group of three last-out stakes winners from last month’s West Virginia Breeders’ Classic program entered in Saturday night’s $50,000 A Huevo Stakes for West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.
In addition to Russell Road, who surpassed the $1 million mark in career earnings by taking his 14th stakes in the $450,000 Classic, the field for the 1 1/8-mile A Huevo includes Pagan Cat, who outran his 19-1 odds to take the seven-furlong Onion Juice, and Golden Set, winner of the seven-furlong West Virginia Lottery for 3-year-olds.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Essence Hit Man probably is the quickest horse on the grounds through the opening furlongs.
And although Essence Hit Man has not made his speed stand up since opening the Woodbine meeting with a victory in the six-furlong Jacques Cartier, his trainer, Audre Cappuccitti, has been doing some tinkering and will be looking to reverse that trend in Saturday’s six-furlong Kennedy Road.
“We’ll try to change some equipment,” said Cappuccitti, who sent out Essence Hit Man to breeze four furlongs in 48.20 seconds here last Sunday under jockey Jesse Campbell.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Athena Rose, fresh off her maiden victory, won her stakes debut at 18-1 in the $150,000 Jammed Lovely on Wednesday night at Woodbine.
Athena Rose tracked the headstrong leader Weekend Romance along the inside in the seven-furlong sprint before joining her on the lead on the turn. Athena Rose began to draw away early in the stretch, and then held off a charging Wonderfully to score by a neck in 1:23.46. Weekend Romance, the 7-10 favorite, finished another two lengths back in third in the six-horse field of Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For the sixth time in the last seven racing days, no one hit the pick six at Aqueduct on Wednesday, resulting in a three-day carryover of $237,446. [Get PPs, race-by-race analysis.]
Since Sunday, Nov. 6, only two winning pick-six tickets have been sold, each of them worth $246,256 in a previous triple carryover situation last Friday.
Empire Way’s flashy maiden race win Sunday could lead to a start in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity on Dec. 17.
Trainer Mike Harrington said the come-from-behind style of Empire Way’s win in his career debut makes the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity over 1 1/16 miles a viable option.
“I’m going to be fairly ambitious,” he said. “I’m looking at the CashCall Futurity. If he doesn’t make it, I’ve got plenty of options.”
Santa Anita’s version of the modified Sunshine Millions will feature three stakes for California-breds, all on Jan. 28, and the card will be supported by the Grade 1 Santa Monica Stakes for older female sprinters, the track announced Wednesday.
The Sunshine Millions had pitted Florida-breds against California-breds, with, initially, eight races, four at Gulfstream Park and four at Santa Anita, all on the same day. The program was truncated to six races last year, and this year has been revamped, with a Florida-bred program at Gulfstream and a Cal-bred program at Santa Anita.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A pair of first-level allowance races share top billing on Friday’s Aqueduct program.
Two grandsons of Danzig who posted impressive victories first time out – Spring to the Sky and Artest – head a field of five 2-year-olds entered in a race 2, a six-furlong sprint on the main track.
California Cup Classic winner Norvsky will make his Grade 1 debut in Saturday’s $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at Hollywood Park, a race that could determine how he is campaigned this winter.
Majority owner Bud Johnston and trainer Don Warren debated whether to start in the Turf Cup over 1 1/2 miles on turf or the $250,000 Citation Handicap over 1 1/16 miles on turf Nov. 26. They have opted for Saturday’s race, which will be the longest of Norvsky’s career.
