Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has three top contenders for Saturday’s $50,000-added Diamond Jubilee at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Hollendorfer’s troika is headed by multiple stakes winner Cathy’s Crunches, who won three straight stakes at Golden Gate Fields last fall. Although she’s 0 for 3 this year, Cathy’s Crunches hit the board in all three starts, including a pair of turf stakes, one of which was the Grade 3 La Habra at Santa Anita.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – If Uncle Mo continues to progress at this rate, the Grade 1 King’s Bishop might not be so unrealistic for his return after all.
Uncle Mo worked a half-mile in 50.38 seconds Thursday morning over Saratoga’s main track, his second breeze in six days and second since returning to trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn following a two-month stint on a farm.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Queen Street Beach wore down pacemaker Altius in the stretch to land his stakes debut in the $125,000 Deputy Minister on Wednesday night at Woodbine.
Queen Street Beach ($3.40) kept his unbeaten record intact in the seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds. He won his first two starts in maiden and allowance company, and on Wednesday collected $75,000 for Melnyk Racing Stable in the Deputy Minister.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Calimonco won his first stakes in Wednesday’s $92,040 Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar. That accomplishment still leaves him several milestones behind his older sisters – Sweet Catomine and Life Is Sweet, millionaires who won Breeders’ Cup races.
Welcome to Spa Babies! I'll break down the statistics for every juvenile contest at the meet and hope for a tidy profit.
In past years, I would list the stats for each horse before writing up my analysis, selections and wagering strategy.
In order to streamline the content, this year's Spa Babies will showcase written analyses of each juvenile race.
Each analysis will include relevant statistical information. Following the analysis, top three selections and wagering strategy will be provided.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There will certainly be many richer and more important races decided over the final five weeks of the 2011 Saratoga session than Monday's $150,000 Lake George Stakes. There may not, though, be a more exhilarating performance during the remainder of the meet than that turned in by Winter Memories en route to her breathtaking 4 1/2-length triumph over Bellamy Star in the Grade 2 turf fixture for 3-year-old fillies.
Joe Rocco Jr., the leading jockey at Delaware Park, tied a track single-day record by riding six winners on Wednesday’s card.
Rocco, 29, won with his first five mounts on the day, starting in the third with Pit Viper ($3.80). He followed with victories in the fourth with Bridgemix ($6.20), the fifth with Cash McCool ($3.80), the sixth with Settling for Gold ($5.80), and the seventh with Like Candy ($8.40).
Rocco did not have a mount in the eighth race, but in the ninth he scored aboard the Michael Matz-trained Christmas Cove ($23.80) to collect his sixth winner.
The rain that compelled John Kimmel to scratch Friend Or Foe from Monday’s Evan Shipman Stakes also forced the veteran horseman to go back to the drawing board to map out a new training schedule to get the New York-bred to his new objective, the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 6. Friend Or Foe’s new schedule included a five-furlong workout shortly after the renovation break Wednesday.
Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo., and Retama Park in Texas have both announced purse increases due to favorable attendance and handle figures.
Arapahoe, which is conducting a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, will be increasing overnight purses by $1,500 each race through the final month of its meet starting this week. Purses for trial races will be increased by $500 each.
