ELMONT, N.Y. – Mike Hushion truly didn’t know what to expect when he ran Gantry in a first-level allowance race at Belmont Park on June 23. After all, Gantry, a 4-year-old gelding, had not run in 227 days, never raced on grass, or faced anything but maidens.
So when Gantry won the six-furlong turf race by 3 1/2 lengths and set a Belmont Park inner turf course record by running the distance in 1:06.87, yes, Hushion was surprised.
AUBURN, Wash. – Chris Stenslie is prospering this summer at Emerald Downs – fifth in the trainer standings and well on her way to a career season – thanks in no small part to her leading client, Jody Peetz.
Peetz seems to have mastered the art of buying fast horses instead of slow ones. Speedy front-runners Hollywood Harbor, Perfect Pie, and Roarified have all turned heads at Emerald this summer, and another Peetz find, Showme Yourfriends, is expected to be one of the favorites Sunday in the $50,000 Seattle Slew Handicap for 3-year-olds.
Mighty B Valiant, the fastest qualifier for the $700,000 Rainbow Futurity on July 24, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for this year’s All American Future Wager on the $2.4 million All American Futurity for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 5.
Betting on the Future Wager opens Friday and will continue through July 23, a nine-day period. Similar to the Kentucky Derby Future Wager conducted in late winter and early spring, the All American Future Wager offers betting on 23 individual horses and a field for all other runners. Only win betting is conducted.
AUBURN, Wash. – Scrambling to stay relevant in Northwest racing, Portland Meadows will abandon its traditional winter meeting in 2012 in favor of a summer/fall schedule that will place it in direct competition with Emerald Downs.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Greg Tracy was weighing his considerable options after Claresmiezie put on an impressive display of speed in the $50,000 Lassie Stakes at Hastings last Saturday.
With Pedro Alvarado aboard, Claresmiezie broke on top and widened her margin to 12 lengths at the top of the stretch in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. She set fast fractions of 22.48 seconds and 45.04 on her way to a final time of 1:17. Compare that to the 1:18.94 that Herescomelucky posted in the New Westminster for 2-year-olds Sunday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Alpha Bettor suffered the toughest of beats in the Victoria Park Stakes, dropping a nose decision after looking like a winner in the shadow of the wire.
But trainer Danny Vella will be hoping for a happier ending on Saturday when he sends out Alpha Bettor here at Woodbine in the $150,000 Toronto Cup, an open race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on the turf course.
Alpha Bettor was making his stakes debut in the Victoria Park, which was run over 1 1/8 miles of Polytrack, and will be making his turf debut in the Toronto Cup.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Nanaimo will seek his third consecutive win in Ontario-sired company Friday at Woodbine in the sixth race, and may be difficult to deny if he stays in the zone.
Nanaimo didn’t show much last year at 2, but the son of Philanthropist is bred to be a late bloomer, and has come around nicely this year.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. came to aid of the Monmouth Park race office when he entered Dabnabit in the Mr. Prospector Stakes on July 4.
Carvajal hopes that good deed is rewarded on Friday in the feature race, a third-level optional $65,000 claimer where Dabnabit faces eight rivals in a six furlong sprint that includes such very familiar local names as Joey P. and Mannington.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The entry of Wild Rose for an optional claimer at Hollywood Park on Friday evening has changed travel plans for all of trainer Jack Carava’s runners this week.
Carava intended to send his 32-horse stable to Del Mar on Tuesday, but after Wild Rose was entered he decided to wait until this weekend before shipping the stable. There is a very good chance the delay will be worthwhile.
