Indian Ink won the Vivacious prep and will try to replicate that effort in the $50,000 Vivacious on Saturday at River Downs.
Trained by Mike Rone, Indian Ink won the 7 1/2-furlong prep July 16 by 3 3/4 lengths. It was the second stakes win this season for the 6-year-old mare, who previously won the T.F. Classen at Thistledown on April 30, her first out this season. Indian Ink won the Vivacious in 2010 and has won 3 of 6 on the turf, all at River Downs. Perry Ouzts retains the mount.\
DEL MAR, Calif. - Six days after he finished fourth in a starter allowance, Ruler of Dubai made his stakes debut in Wednesday’s $100,000 Graduation Stakes and pulled an upset in the sprint for statebred 2-year-olds.
Trainer George Papaprodromou said that Ruler of Dubai lost any chance of a good performance in the starter allowance on July 27 after sweating significantly before the race. There was no such incident in the Graduation, which Ruler of Dubai ($31.80) won by a head over the 10-1 first-time starter Three Vases.
The floor was open. Stay Thirsty responded with a sensational win in the Jim Dandy, while Coil and Shackleford both stepped up big time with their one-two finish in the Haskell Invitational.
That was last weekend. And this is this weekend, when the 3-year-old division could welcome another prime-timer when the Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby is run Saturday at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Chester, W.Va.
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.
