Tizway, who missed the Jockey Club Gold Cup earlier this month after briefly spiking a temperature, continued to progress toward a start in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic by working a mile in 1:38.47 on the main track at Belmont Park on Wednesday morning.
Trainer Joe Woodard reached a personal milestone of 1,000 wins Tuesday when Just Call'er ($3.40) won the eighth race at Beulah Park. The 43-year-old Woodard has been training for the past 18 years.
Woodard was not aware he was close to 1,000 wins until earlier in the day.
“I am not one to brag and don't really think about individual honors but trying to win every race for my owners.”
Woodard is the private trainer for owner Billy Hays and has won 941 races for Hays and his family.
Pacific Classic winner Acclamation, ranked among the leading American contenders for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup Turf, is through for the season, according to his principal owner and breeder, Buddy Johnston.
Currently stabled at Santa Anita with trainer Don Warren, the 5-year-old Acclamation displayed heat in a foot that has limited his recent activity, Johnston noted.
MIAMI - Fort Loudon will face only six rivals, including his stablemate Argentine Tango, when he looks to complete a sweep of the open division of the 2011 Florida Stallion Stakes in Saturday’s $300,000 In Reality Stakes.
The 1 1/16-mile In Reality highlights the Festival of the Sun program that also includes the $300,000 My Dear Girl finales of the filly division of the Stallion Stakes, the Grade 3 Spend A Buck Handicap as well as the $75,000 Tropical Park Derby and its filly counterpart, the Frances Genter for 3-year-olds on the turf.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Pebbles Stakes winner Elusive Pearl was the only favorite to get the job done in Monday’s pick six at Belmont, resulting in a two-day carryover of $102,902 as racing resumes Thursday.
With a good chance for rain Wednesday, and four of the races scheduled for turf, handicappers may have to make a number of race-day adjustments depending on the weather.
The pick six begins with race 4, post time scheduled for 2:35 p.m. Eastern.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Majestic City, second to Dullahan in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland last Saturday, will be pointed to the BC Juvenile on Nov. 5 and will be considered for two other races that weekend at Churchill Downs, trainer Peter Miller said Monday.
The winner of two sprint stakes at Hollywood Park in the summer, Majestic City’s primary goal is the BC Juvenile, but Miller is not ruling a start in the BC Juvenile Turf or the BC Juvenile Sprint.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Secret Circle, the 2-year-old colt who scored an easy win in Monday’s minor Jack Goodman Stakes, left trainer Bob Baffert somewhat surprised by the result.
Ridden by Martin Garcia, Secret Circle ($3.20) stalked two pacesetters, circled those rivals and pulled away to win the six-furlong race by 5 1/4 lengths in the quick time of 1:08.27.
“I’m sort of half-shocked the way he ran,” Baffert said. “He didn’t show that in the morning. It’s amazing.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Officials at Santa Anita estimate the pick-six pool will soar beyond $500,000 on Thursday as bettors chase a $76,835 carryover on races 3-8.
The sequence is not particularly difficult, nor is the overall program compelling. The card includes two maiden special weight turf races, one maiden-claiming sprint, two sprints for claiming winners, and a main-track allowance route with a potential pick-six single.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Expectations were unlimited for Dancinginherdreams after the distinctive-looking gray filly won the first two races of her career in spectacular fashion last fall, starting with a maiden sprint at the 2010 Keeneland fall meet. Those high hopes went unmet in the months that followed, leading trainer John T. Ward Jr. to go back to the proverbial drawing board with her.
ARCADIA, Calif. – California Flag’s record third career win in the Grade 3 Morvich Stakes at Santa Anita on Monday could lead to his fourth consecutive appearance in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.
On Tuesday, trainer Brian Koriner stopped short of committing the 7-year-old California Flag to the BC Turf Sprint, wanting to see how the gelding reacts to the race in coming days.
“He’d had to show that he’s training great and throwing himself around,” Koriner said. “So far, everything has been good for him.”
