LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Not only does Steve Asmussen have the surefire 2-year-old filly champion in My Miss Aurelia, but he also has a 2-year-old colt that stands to make a major impact in his division in the coming months as well.
Asmussen was thrilled with the way Hierro won a seven-furlong maiden race Wednesday at Churchill Downs, drawing off to prevail by 5 1/4 lengths, and the future Hall of Famer agreed the colt would have to rank among his most promising prospects for the classics next spring.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s tempting to label Cool C Note as a synthetic or turf horse, considering how well the 5-year-old has fared over those surfaces lately, but trainer Mike Tomlinson said that wouldn’t be fair.
“He’ll run over broken glass,” said Tomlinson. “Maybe he’s a touch better on Poly or grass, but the way he’s worked over the dirt here at Churchill Downs, I just had to give him a shot over it.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Tu Endie Wei has the superior Beyer Figures, but Kitty’s Got Class has never lost. The two gifted fillies will clash Sunday in the $150,000 Glorious Song Stakes, which could have Sovereign Award implications in the 2-year-old filly division.
Tu Endie Wei took Woodbine by storm when she mounted an impressive wide rally from off a sizzling pace to win her June 25 debut in the My Dear Stakes. For covering five furlongs in 56.93 seconds, she was awarded a fat 91 Beyer.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — There’s an intriguing shipper in town for Sunday’s $150,000 Glorious Song at Woodbine, as Lexington Pearl checked in from England via Amsterdam last Saturday for the seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies.
Lexington Pearl races for Pearl Bloodstock Ltd., the nom du course of Sheikh Fahad al Thani, a member of the royal family of Qatar. Lexington Pearl is slated to remain in North America following the Glorious Song with trainer Graham Motion at his base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.
The spring and summer of 2000 was a great time for trainer John Servis. His 3-year-old filly Jostle won the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan and two even more prestigious Grade 1 stakes in New York, the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama.
Flash forward to 2011, and Servis has a son of Jostle who is showing signs he may have inherited some of his dam’s talent.
Adirondack King, a daylight winner of back-to-back key races, looks like a solid favorite in the first of two restricted $75,000 stakes for 2-year-olds on Sunday’s card at Parx Racing.
No one hit the pick six at Golden Gate Fields for the seventh consecutive day Thursday as the longshots Country Gold ($92.60), One Mo ($25.60), and Alashir's Storm ($20.60) ensured a carryover of $335,167 for Friday's card.
Thursday's pick six returned $16,317.20 for 5 of 6 correct after bettors chased the six-day carryover of $106,725.
Friday's pick six begins with race 3, scheduled post time 1:47 p.m. Pacific.
PICK SIX CARRYOVER: Get PPs, read analysis, use TicketMaker free »
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Thursday approved a 67-day meet for Prairie Meadows in 2012 that will run from April 20 to Aug. 11 and have a Thursday-to-Sunday race week, a change from recent years when the track raced Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
With its $32 million hotel due to open by April 1, Prairie Meadows is hoping that the Thursday-through-Sunday schedule will help bring in fans for the entire weekend and boost its casino revenue, as well as ontrack betting on horse races.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Nobody correctly picked six winners for the third straight racing day, resulting in a carryover of $188,308 into Friday’s program at Aqueduct.
After a 5-of-6 consolation that paid more than $15,000 on Wednesday, the Thursday consolation was $1,339 for tickets with five winners.
Favorites were blanked from a sequence comprised of Wise Harmony ($29.60), Little Wyatt ($8.80), Lime Zest ($10.40), Glory in Motion ($17), Amylimehouse ($10.20), and Star of Escondida ($7.60).
ARCADIA, Calif. – Breeders’ Cup 2011 was largely forgettable for trainer Bob Baffert, whose nine starters produced a Juvenile Sprint win by odds-on Secret Circle and a runner-up finish by 14-1 outsider Game On Dude in the Classic. They were the only Baffert runners to hit the board in the Breeders’ Cup.
