NORTH RANDALL, Ohio – Rapid Redux, the winningest horse in North America this year, won again at Thistledown on Monday, giving him 13 victories without a loss in 2011. His wining streak began last December and now stands at 15 races.
Four horses are tied for second in wins this year at 8 apiece.
Rapid Redux’s half-length win Monday came in a $5,000 starter allowance at 1 1/16 miles. It was his first start since he won a similar race at Mountaineer Park on July 15.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – I’m Not Afraid began the year on a high note with two consecutive victories, and she may be ready to notch her third win of the meet Thursday at Woodbine in a second-level allowance with a $60,000 claiming option.
I’m Not Afraid performed well without finding the mark at Arlington and in Kentucky last year. She changed trainers over the winter, going from Dan Peitz to Julia Carey, who sent her out to graduate off a five-month layoff in a six-furlong maiden special May 1.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Three of the first four finishers in the Grade 3, $300,000 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park last Saturday – Northern Indy, Line Change, and Inhisglory – are being pointed to the Grade 3, $200,000 British Columbia Derby at Hastings on Sept. 11.
DEL MAR, Calif. – It didn’t seem like the most sensible proposition, even for a risk-taker.
When horse owner George Hicker learned last month that the 6-year-old gelding Tres Borrachos was available for private purchase, his interest was piqued. Granted, Tres Borrachos had not won a stakes in three years, had not won a race in two years, and had started only once this year. But the deal had intangibles that swayed Hicker – the time of year and the endorsement of his trainer, Marty Jones.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Two overnight stakes for fillies and mares were run here last weekend, and the winners hailed from decidedly different quarters.
Moonlit Beauty, who showed the way in Sunday’s seven-furlong Belle Geste, is the one-horse stable of Bill Gierkink, who also is the breeder of the 5-year-old and was enjoying his second career stakes victory. Trainer John LeBlanc was winning the fourth stakes of his career.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Bob Baffert said he was looking for a way out of the Travers. But after watching Coil breeze a fast half-mile Tuesday morning over Saratoga’s main track, Baffert and his 3-year-old appear to be all in for Saturday’s $1 million Midsummer Derby.
With Baffert looking on from the empty Saratoga grandstand, Coil, winner of the Haskell Invitational, worked a fast four furlongs in 46.12 seconds in company with West Virginia Derby winner Prayer for Relief shortly after the 8:45 a.m. renovation break.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Tlaquepaque, Stormy Canuck, Tarue Grit, and Fransor’s Finest are all outsiders looking in when it comes to the Grade 3, $200,000 British Columbia Derby, which will be run at Hastings on Sept. 11. Nonetheless, they are all nominated, and a breakout performance in an optional $50,000 claiming race Wednesday could convince their connections to take a shot at the richest race in B.C.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Ontrack handle is up nearly 10 percent while all-sources handle is basically even through the first 28 days of the 2011 Saratoga meet when compared with the same five weeks of 2010, according to figures released Monday by the New York Racing Association.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Tanda's victory in the Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Sunday has her new trainer, Mike Mitchell, eyeing the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs.
Tanda was making her first start at this track and for Mitchell, who took over from Dan Hendricks as Tanda's trainer at the end of July after she finished third to Irish Gypsy and Ultra Blend in the A Gleam Handicap at Hollywood Park. Mitchell gave the mount to Joe Talamo, who rode her for the first time.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Trainer Bob Baffert always has been far more a fan of dirt racing than synthetic, but this summer, he has not been enamored with the track at Saratoga, and that's one reason why The Factor, his wickedly fast 3-year-old, is remaining at Del Mar for the Grade 1, $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes on Polytrack on Sunday.
