ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Buongiorno Johnny will try to turn the tables on Indian Evening on Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Swynford Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint that lured just three other 2-year-olds.
Buongiorno Johnny and Indian Evening both debuted in the faster split of a six-furlong maiden special July 10, and Indian Evening rallied to prevail by daylight over Buongiorno Johnny. The final time of 1:09.91 translated into a 70 Beyer Speed Figure.
ANDERSON, Ind. - Hoosier Park canceled racing after the second race Thursday evening because of poor track conditions. Torrential rains have fallen on the racetrack and casino the past two days, leaving the track unfit to race over.
Racing is scheduled to resume Friday, with first post at 5:30 p.m.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – To say trainer Jim DiVito has been on a tear in 2-year-old races is not doing the man justice. Twenty-one of the last 52 juveniles DiVito has sent out to race have come home first for an audacious 40-percent strike rate. And DiVito hardly is operating with an inherent talent advantage. He has a major contender for the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity in Twelve Hundred, and for the $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie in Ann of the Dance. The two horses combined cost a mere $3,700 at auction.
Some pretty nice grass horses have found their way to Kentucky Downs through the years, and now Rahystrada is headed to the rural environs of Simpson County. Although the 1 1/2-mile distance and undulating terrain are new for Rahystrada, there is little doubt the 7-year-old gelding will be a deserving favorite when Kentucky Downs opens its four-day meet Saturday with the 14th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Kentucky Cup Turf.
Two-year-olds take center stage Saturday afternoon at Hoosier Park with the running of the City of Anderson and the Hillsdale. Both events are at 5 1/2 furlongs and carry a purse of $84,000.
Trainer Barbara McBride looks to be holding a pair of aces with Yeardley and Slacker in the 12-horse City of Anderson. Both are coming off an impressive win in their career debut. Yeardley soundly defeated statebred fillies Aug. 17 by 6 1/2 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 66, some 15 points higher than any other entrant in the Anderson.
BOSSIER CITY, La.– Prayer for Relief is undefeated at 3, unbeaten on dirt, and will be seeking his fourth consecutive win Saturday when he invades from Southern California for the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
By all accounts, he is the one to beat.
But dig a little deeper, and the race is not that clear-cut.
Alternation is a potent stretch threat if he runs back to his dramatic win in the Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park. Malibu Glow just squared off with some of the division’s chief players in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.
POMONA, Calif. – No stakes, no problem. Gambling is the focus Saturday at Fairplex Park, where full fields compensate for the absence of a weekend showcase stakes race.
Only four California-bred fillies and mares nominated to the $50,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes scheduled for Saturday; only three entered even after the statebred restriction was lifted. Officials canceled the 1 1/16-mile stakes and expect increased interest Sept. 24, when fillies and mares run long in the $50,000 Las Madrinas Handicap.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A few days before Del Mar’s meeting began, trainer Bob Baffert cited a few unraced 2-year-old colts he expected to do well at the meet. One of the horses, a Lawyer Ron colt, had yet to be named, but Baffert said the name Volt had been submitted to the Jockey Club.
ELMONT, N.Y. − While Grace Hall has come out of her victory in Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway in good order, trainer Tony Dutrow and his owners have not yet decided what is next for her.
The Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont on Oct. 8 seems a logical target, but Dutrow said he isn’t sure if he wants to run her in that spot.
