Tue, 10/25/2011 - 15:55

Lane's End getting Shakespeare at Kentucky Farm

Dual Grade 1 winner and course record-setter Shakespeare will relocate from Florida to Kentucky, where he will stand at Lane’s End in 2012.

The Versailles, Ky., farm will announce his fee later. Signature Stallions in Reddick, Fla., had advertised him for $10,000 on its website.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 15:43

Remington Park: Cherokee Lord continues Inman's legacy

Dustin Orona Photography
Cherokee Lord scores a 2 1/4-length win in the Remington Green.

More than 18 years after his death, Hoss Inman is still winning races. His estate co-bred and co-owns Cherokee Lord, who dominated last week’s $125,000 Green at Remington Park and his headed next to the Grade 3, $100,000 River City at Churchill Downs.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 15:30

Golden Gate: Sourdough Sam's win in Oakland a big one for Pederson, Lopez

Dean Pederson’s happy homecoming turned into a milestone victory for jockey David Lopez in Saturday’s Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

Pederson, who moved his barn south this spring, made a triumphant comeback when Sourdough Sam rallied from last to pull away from old rival – and odds-on favorite – Shudacudawudya in the stretch of the six-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds and up. For Lopez, it was victory No. 1,000 in his career.

Pederson moved to Southern California last spring when the Hollywood Park meet opened.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 15:16

Breeders’ Cup: Tizway will miss Classic due to injury

Barbara D. Livingston
Tizway will miss the Breeders' Cup Classic due to injury and has been retired from racing.

Trainer James Bond believed Tizway was “an unbelievable racehorse” and was champing at the bit to show the rest of the world just how unbelievable at next week’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

He won’t get that opportunity.

Tizway’s career came to an abrupt end Tuesday when he was diagnosed with a strain of the suspensory ligament of his left foreleg that will force him out of the Breeders’ Cup. He will now be retired to stud at B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 14:54

Santa Anita: The Factor gets in speedy seven furlongs

Benoit & Associates
The Factor, with Martin Garcia in the saddle, wins the Pat O'Brien.

The Factor, one of trainer Bob Baffert’s leading hopes for the Breeders’ Cup, zoomed seven furlongs in 1:22.20 at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning. Baffert said over the weekend that The Factor would be pre-entered for the BC Sprint and the BC Dirt Mile. The Hall of Fame trainer may have as many as 10 starters in the Breeders’ Cup.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 14:20

Santa Anita: Smiling Tiger and Unzip Me to skip Breeders' Cup

Shigeki Kikkawa
Smiling Tiger is getting a month off after a tough campaign.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Smiling Tiger and Unzip Me, California-based sprinters who finished third in Breeders’ Cup races at Churchill Downs in 2010, will not be making return engagements for Breeders’ Cup races in Kentucky on Nov. 5, their respective trainers said.

They were not pre-entered on Monday, when such entries were due. The Breeders’ Cup was scheduled to announce the pre-entered runners on Wednesday.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 13:54

Santa Anita: Spirit Seeker stands out, with a caveat

ARCADIA, Calif. – At face value, Spirit Seeker’s third consecutive dirt-surface victory makes her a veritable standout in an optional claimer that highlights a sleepy card Thursday at Santa Anita.

However, extenuating circumstances Oct. 13 cast doubt on the validity of Spirit Seeker’s recent front-running victory in the mile race for $20,000 claiming fillies and mares. The air temperature was 99 degrees, track maintenance crews increased the application of water, and the main track produced a series of rail-skimming winners.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 13:13

Santa Anita: Bob Black Jack, at 6, the comeback kid again

Benoit & Associates
Bob Black Jack, David Flores riding, wins the San Carlos Handicap in February 2010, his most recent start.

ARCADIA, Calif. – When it seemed the racing career of the multiple stakes winner Bob Black Jack was over because of injury in early 2010, trainer James Kasparoff found it more difficult than expected to find him a new home.

There was minimal interest from California’s stud farms, and the financial side of a potential stallion deal did not appeal to owners Jeff Harmon and Tim Kasparoff, James’s brother. In fact, the financial side was nonexistent, Kasparoff recalled.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 13:00

Woodbine: Seen It All Before gets some class relief

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Seen It All Before gets some big-time class relief in Thursday’s Woodbine headliner, an Ontario-sired allowance over a mile and 70 yards for nonwinners of two, which lured seven other 2-year-olds.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 12:36

Woodbine: Baker barn ready for strong stretch run

Michael Burns
City Wolf, with Emma-Jayne Wilson riding, wins the Durham Cup, his stakes debut.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – It has been a solid season for the Reade Baker stable, which had recorded 48 wins and purse money of more than $2.5 million heading into the final six weeks of the meeting.

“I’m very happy with our year, and we’ll have a strong finish if our races go,” said Baker,

“I had an overwhelming number of 2-year-olds with bucked shins. That was the only thing that slowed us up. I’ll have seven or eight ready to run in the last week, but are there going to be races for them?”