Rapid Redux remained on course in his quest to challenge the all-time record of 19 consecutive wins by a North American Throroughbred by cruising to his 17th consecutive victory Friday night at Charles Town.
A 5-year-old gelding who was claimed for $6,500 by owner Robert Cole in October 2010, Rapid Redux is now just two wins shy of the record shared by the superstar mare Zenyatta and the New Mexico-bred mare Peppers Pride.
ELMONT, N.Y. - There will be a pick-six carryover of $93,828 on Saturday at Belmont Park after the wager went unhit for a second consecutive day.
The carryover was assured when Count Catamount ($30.40) won the eighth race. There were no live tickets entering the nightcap, which was won by Honey Talk ($14.80).
Friday’s pick-six sequence also included double-digit-priced winners Top Surprize ($18) and Kharafa ($31.80).
The consolation payout (5 of 6) returned $1,007.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Unbridled Humor had been so impressive winning her first four career starts that a start in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga seemed logical. The betting public dove in with both fists sending her off the 9-5 favorite in a nine-horse field.
The bettors and her connections were bitterly disappointed when Unbridled Humor faltered after setting the pace, finishing seventh, beaten 5 1/2 lengths by Zagora.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Though Flat Out ran two respectable races at Saratoga when second in the Whitney and Woodward this summer, trainer Scooter Dickey is really looking forward to getting his 5-year-old horse back to Belmont Park for next month’s Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational.
Simply stated, Belmont Park is where Flat Out ran the best race of his career, wining the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths in July.
AUBURN, Wash. – Newfound Man and He’s All Heart are the horses to beat Sunday in the $40,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic, the marquee event on Washington Cup Day at Emerald Downs. A six-stakes showcase for horses bred in Washington, or sired by stallions standing in the state, the Washington Cup races attracted 40 entrants, only one of whom has won a stakes race in 2011. That list will grow by at least five by the end of the day Sunday. First post is 2 p.m. Pacific.
When Tidal Volume won his fourth straight race in last weekend’s $50,000 Temperence Hill at Louisiana Downs, it brought Robin Murphy to tears. The horse was given to her after he fractured a knee at 2 and has now given the small business owner a sense of financial freedom. Tidal Volume, who was making his stakes debut in the Temperence Hill, picked up $30,000 for the win, which pushed the 5-year-old’s earnings to $116,956.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – A cutback in distance and the defection of a pair of leading contenders makes the $60,000 Politely Stakes a more favorable spot for In the Rough.
The Politely, the Sunday feature at Monmouth Park, initially drew nine fillies and mares for the 1 1/16 miles on the turf. However, the connections of Aquitaine and Unbridled Humor have indicated they will run instead in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel Stakes on Sunday at Belmont Park.
In the Rough set the pace in her latest effort, finishing fourth in Monmouth’s 1 3/8-mile Omnibus Stakes.
MIAMI – The phone rang in the Daily Racing Form office high atop the Calder grandstand during training hours one morning earlier this week with a familiar voice on the other end. It was Pete Anderson, the former rider turned trainer and one-time bon vivant back during racing’s hey days. And as is usually the case when speaking with Anderson, the conversation was decidedly one-sided.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s $1 million Woodbine Mile and $500,000 Northern Dancer both have richer purses and Grade 1 status, but the Grade 2, $300,000 Canadian outstrips those stakes is in terms of both quantity and quality with a field of 14 set to go postward over 1 1/8 miles of turf.
Trainer Graham Motion, who is shipping up Shared Account and Apple Charlotte from his Fair Hill, Md., base, agrees that the Canadian is far from an easy spot.
“I think this is the deepest race for fillies and mares on the turf this season,” said Motion.
POMONA, Calif. – The summer meet at Del Mar was a disaster for 2-year-old Unhitchthetrailor.
“He had two horrendous trips,” trainer Gary Sherlock said. “The last one was a nightmare. He was trapped on the fence and had no chance to run.”
