Coil and Shackleford, the one-two finishers in the Haskell, returned to the track Thursday morning at Saratoga, each jogging over the main track as they prepare for a possible rematch in the $1 million Travers Stakes here Aug. 27.
Coil was on the track around 7:30. Shackleford came out after the break and jogged two miles.
“He’s feeling great, full of himself,” Terranova said of Coil “He’s such a big, solid horse.”
Trappe Shot, the 8 1/2-length winner of the Grade 2 True North, will attempt to win his first Grade 1 stakes when he meets seven rivals in Sunday’s $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at six furlongs at Saratoga.
Trappe Shot, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, drew the outside post in the eight-horse field and will be ridden by John Velazquez.
The last time Trappe Shot raced at Saratoga, he finished ninth as the 7-2 favorite in the $1 million Travers Stakes going 1 1/4 miles. Since then, he is 2 for 2 at six furlongs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Inseparable through virtually every step of Thursday's nine-furlong Birdstone Stakes, Rule outlasted Sangaree to win the $75,000 race by a neck at Saratoga. It was eight lengths back to Gautier in third.
Sangaree, on the inside under Rajiv Maragh, and Rule, on the outside under Javier Castellano, hooked up right out of the gate and set fractions of 23.62 seconds for the quarter and 47.09 for the half. Rule dropped back by maybe three-quarters of a length midway down the backside, but then re-engaged Sangaree entering the far turn.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. − It will be overshadowed by a pair of Grade 1 races being run on Saturday’s card, but the $75,000 De La Rose Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile on turf came up a terrific race, featuring the North American debut of arguably the best-bred horse on the grounds.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Preamble stretched his winning streak to four races in an optional claimer at Del Mar on Wednesday, leading trainer Richard Mandella to ponder which race best suits the colt for his stakes debut in the next month.
The choices range from the highly ambitious – such as the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 28 – to two more logical races – the $250,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes over seven furlongs on Aug. 28 or the restricted $85,000 Windy Sands Handicap over a mile on Sept. 3.
“It gives us a chance to be excited,” Mandella said.
Apart became just the second horse in Louisiana Downs history to sweep the Prelude and Super Derby when he turned the trick last year, 19 seasons after it was accomplished by Free Spirit’s Joy.
Whether a horse in Saturday’s $100,000 Prelude is capable of winning the two most significant 3-year-old races at the meet remains to be seen, but the field of 11 offers handicappers real value.
Michael Kipness, AKA The Wizard, joined DRF.com users for a Saratoga chat to discuss the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational and Test on Saturday. Here are the chat highlights:
On Tizway's chances in the Whitney Invitational:
With Tizway, the verdict is still out on his ability to be as effective at two turns as he is at one turn. I just don't see Tizway dominating a competitive field like this going 1 1/8 miles. Tizway, in my opinion, will be overbet and vulnerable.
AUBURN, Wash. – Exclusive Diva, a fast horse with fancy bloodlines, figures to be a strong favorite Sunday in the $50,000 Angie C Stakes at Emerald Downs. The daughter of Bernardini won her debut with ease last month and would seem to have a stakes victory or two in her immediate future. But she’ll have to contend with the less-heralded, but perhaps no-less talented, Royal Moses in the meeting’s first open stakes race for 2-year-old fillies.
Owner Fred Brei and trainer Stanley Gold swept the open division of the 2009 Stallion Series with Jackson Bend and the filly division a year ago with their ultimate Eclipse Award winner Awesome Feather. The pair will begin their quest for another sweep when sending out a couple of leading contenders in both the $75,000 Desert Vixen and Dr. Fager stakes, which kick off the six-race Stallion Series on Saturday at Calder.
ALTOONA, Iowa – Saturday evening’s Iowa Classic Night, featuring seven stakes races worth over a combined $530,000, brings together the best Iowa-breds in training, all 51 of which are stabled at Prairie Meadows. The races that start and finish the stakes program, the $75,000 Iowa Cradle and the $85,000 Donna Reed, carry significant intrigue.
The Iowa Cradle, a six-furlong juvenile event which drew six geldings and one colt, brings forth a rematch between probable favorite Beware the Devil and Voodooville.
