Wed, 11/09/2011 - 14:54

Remington Park: Sword Trick has much in his favor for Clever Trevor

Sword Trick might be stepping up in both class and distance for Friday night’s $100,000 Clever Trevor at Remington Park, but he still is the one to beat in the seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds. Sword Trick was a romping winner of a restricted stakes in his last start, and the Beyer Speed Figure of 92 that he earned is the best career number in the Clever Trevor.

Wed, 11/09/2011 - 14:29

Woodbine: Eagle Poise a player in Valedictory prep

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The classy U.S. invader Eagle Poise is among a diverse field of eight in the $89,400 prep for the Grade 3 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine Friday. The 1 5/8-mile allowance also attracted champion Eye of the Leopard, along with the popular gelding Helicopter.

Eagle Poise is winless since he romped home on top by eight lengths in the 2009 Valedictory prep. He went on to finish second to Cloudy’s Knight in the 1 3/4-mile Valedictory itself.

Wed, 11/09/2011 - 13:59

Aqueduct: Mucho Macho Man sharp in comeback victory

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Mucho Macho Man coasts to the wire of his Wednesday comeback under jockey Ramon Dominguez.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Making his first start since the Belmont Stakes, Mucho Macho Man ($4.90) returned in a big way at Aqueduct on Wednesday, winning a second-level allowance by 5 3/4 lengths under a hand ride.

Breaking to the lead out of the chute under Ramon Dominguez, Mucho Macho Man set fractions of 23.32, 46.32 and 1:09.86 while chased by 7-5 favorite Southern Ridge, easily shrugged that rival off through upper stretch and widened his lead without need of encouragement.

Wed, 11/09/2011 - 13:46

Sovereign Awards: 2011 winners to be honored at Woodbine in April

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 37th Sovereign Awards ceremony, honoring the outstanding performers in Canadian racing and breeding for 2011, will be held at Woodbine on Thursday, April 5, 2012.

The date for the gala, which falls one day before the opening of the 2012 Woodbine meeting, was announced on Wednesday by the Jockey Club of Canada.

The JCC experimented with the timing and location, which is the third floor of the grandstand, for the first time this past April and the event was deemed to have been a success.

Wed, 11/09/2011 - 13:20

Churchill: Won Great Damsel among contenders in wide-open sprint for females

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This being 11-11-11, there is no 11 in the 11th for hunch bettors to rely on Friday at Churchill Downs. Fundamental handicapping, mixed in with old-fashioned racing luck, will have to suffice for players intent on getting a profitable head start on their weekend, and there seems to be plenty of good opportunities.

Wed, 11/09/2011 - 13:06

Woodbine: Court of the Realm seeks to salvage season in Autumn

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Court of the Realm appeared to have as much upside as any horse on the grounds when he began his 4-year-old campaign here at Woodbine this past spring. On Saturday, Court of the Realm will be looking to regain some lost luster in the Grade 2, $150,000 Autumn, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and upward.

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 16:16

Golden Gate: A nose is all the difference

Vassar Photography
Power of Nine (5) is edged by Lady of Fifty in the Golden Gate Debutante.

It’s unlikely that any stakes at the current Golden Gate meet will prove more exciting than Saturday’s Golden Gate Fields Debutante, won by a nose by Lady of Fifty over Power of Nine.

Even winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said, “That was a lucky bob there.”

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 16:04

Delta Downs: Drill, Jake Mo pre-entered for Delta Downs Jackpot

Shigeki Kikkawa
Drill has been pre-entered for the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on Nov. 19.

Drill and Jake Mo, who ran in separate Breeders’ Cup races last weekend, were among 17 horses pre-entered Tuesday for the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot. The 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds will be run in Vinton, La., on Nov. 19. Final entries will be taken Nov. 16.

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 15:49

Aqueduct: Fusa Code has stakes credentials

Tommie Morelos/Coady Photography
Fusa Code, with Justin Shepherd riding, wins the Borderland Derby at Sunland Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A pair of first-level allowance races share top billing on Thursday’s Aqueduct card, beginning with race 3, a $53,000 sprint at seven furlongs.

Of the six 3-year-olds in the lineup, the most accomplished is Fusa Code, whose maiden win came in the $100,000 Borderland Derby at Sunland Park for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 15:31

Hollywood Park: Juveniles in focus as autumn meet opens

Barbara D. Livingston
Weemissfrankie could make a start in the Grade 1, $250,000 Hollywood Starlet for fillies on Dec. 10.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The theme at Hollywood Park has shifted. Turf racing remains essential to the autumn meet, but the stakes program is geared toward youth.

“It’s evolved toward giving 2-year-olds the opportunity to get ready” for next year, racing secretary Martin Panza said. “For a six-week meet, we’ve got a lot of 2-year-old stakes.”