VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Sage Gold should appreciate the easier company he will be facing when he drops into a $12,500 claiming race that will serve as Friday’s feature at Hastings. The 6 1/2-half furlong sprint attracted eight older horses and will go as race 6 on the seven-race card, which begins at 7:15 p.m.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Mr. Commons, the winner of the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar on July 20, will miss an expected start in Saturday’s $150,000 La Jolla Handicap because of a bruise in a foot, trainer John Shirreffs said on Wednesday.
Entries for the Grade 2 La Jolla Handicap were taken on Wednesday and Shirreffs said that Mr. Commons had not recovered sufficiently to start.
Shirreffs said that the setback is not severe and that Mr. Commons may be able to start in the $250,000 Del Mar Derby over 1 1/8 miles on turf on Sept. 4.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Spider Rock is the type of racehorse who has commanded no headlines but plenty of respect from horsepeople and horseplayers.
On Friday, Spider Rock will be seeking his 13th victory while making his 28th career start in a $50,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and upward.
Spider Rock is the senior member of the seven-horse field, at age 8. But the Kentucky-bred is the third choice in the morning line, at 7-2, off his game win for $40,000 in his seasonal debut.
Amanda Tamburello lost her apprentice allowance after the races last weekend but there are plenty of apprentice riders to take her place at River Downs.
Tamburello has won 106 races lifetime, 101 of them in the last year. Apprentice riders have one year after their fifth win to maintain their status as an apprentice. For Tamburello, that day came last Saturday. Tamburello is second in the River Downs jockey standings with 46 wins coming into Wednesday's card, one ahead of Gabriel Lagunes and two in front of Yuri Yaranga. Perry Ouzts leads the standings with 100 wins.
The 2011 Thoroughbred meet at Prairie Meadows comes to a close on Saturday evening and, although jockey Terry Thompson ran away with the riding title with his meet record-breaking 95 wins, Glenn Corbett enjoyed a stellar meet.
Corbett’s 10 stakes wins, ending with L D’s Shes Special’s rallying win in last Saturday’s $99,550 Donna Reed at 2-1, were also a record, and his win Monday aboard Stormin Warlord for trainer Bart Hone marked his all-time leading 1,275th at this oval.
Star Guitar has been dominant in the handicap division at Evangeline Downs in recent seasons, compiling a perfect 5-for-5 record dating back to 2009. So formidable is his reputation that in winning his third Louisiana Showcase Classic last month, only four rivals took on the 6-year-old two-time reigning champion Louisiana-bred. But when he goes for his third consecutive Evangeline Mile Handicap against open company on Saturday night, Star Guitar will have to contend with a new kid on the block, Crystal Moment.
Like the three Turf Festival races that will directly follow, the $65,000 Hatoof Stakes on Saturday at Arlington Park shapes up as a terrific wagering race. While entries for the Festival were drawn Tuesday, the balance of the 12-race Saturday card, including the Hatoof, were drawn Wednesday.
Chicago racing landed a Beverly D. in storybook fashion last year when longtime Arlington Park chairman Richard Duchossois owned the winning filly, Eclair de Lune. The victory was met with raucous cheers and heartfelt tears from the locals, many of whom said there could not possibly have been a more fitting and deserving winner than Duchossois.
Although it faces a double overlap against the Sonoma County Fair its opening weekend and Golden Gate Fields on closing weekend, the 115th Humboldt County Fair at Ferndale seems positioned for a good meeting. The eight-day meet opens Friday and runs through Aug. 21.
Ferndale has two days, next Wednesday and Thursday, when it will be the lone Northern California track running, which should help its business.
