LEXINGTON, Ky. – The connections of just seven 3-year-old fillies have accepted invitations to run Saturday in the $600,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, the sixth and last Grade 1 race at the Keeneland fall meet.
Chad Brown, who has won three of the last four runnings of the QE II and a record four overall, will be represented by the uncoupled pair of McKulick and Gina Romantica.
Bolt’s Broad has been disqualified from his victory in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Del Mar on Sept. 9 after jockey Drayden Van Dyke was cited for excessive use of the whip in the race.
In a ruling issued on Monday by Santa Anita stewards Luis Jauregui, Kim Sawyer and Richard Williams, owner Ruis Racing was ordered to forfeit the $60,000 first-place purse, while Van Dyke must forfeit his share of $4,800.
The $60,000 comprises $48,000 for first and a $12,000 bonus paid by the track for winning a maiden special weight race on dirt.
Party Politics, the winner of the Ed Burke Million Futurity at Los Alamitos in June, and Cyber Attack, second in the Rainbow Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in July, are among the 10 qualifiers for the $1,087,250 Golden State Million Futurity on Oct. 30 after time trials on Sunday.
Cyber Attack, trained by Christopher O’Dell for Connie Rosenthal, ran 400 yards in 19.60 seconds under jockey Eduardo Nicasio to win the 10th of 12 time trials and set the fastest qualifying time.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The whole point of wheeling Nagirroc back in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity was to try and earn a berth into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Nov. 4 at Keeneland. That mission was accomplished when Nagirroc ran down Saratoga Flash to win the Futurity by a head in a blanket finish where the top five finishers were separated by a half-length.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While Nest still has one more major objective for this year, the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Nov. 5, part-owner Mike Repole confirmed Sunday that the likely 3-year-old champion filly will return for a 4-year-old campaign in 2022.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Business has not been booming at the Belmont at the Big A fall meeting.
All-sources handle through the first 16 days of the 28-day meet was $145,937,132, a 15.2 percent decrease from the $172,126,651 handled over the same period at last fall’s Belmont Park season. Ontrack handle through 16 days is $13,272,707, down 19 percent from last year’s figure of $16,391,668.
Trainer Jonathan Wong chose an elegant way to honor the recent death of a former boss, trainer John F. Martin, over the weekend at the Big Fresno Fair.
All of Wong’s runners wore Martin’s familiar blue silks with interlocking JFM letters. Wong’s stable, which has risen to the top of Northern California racing in recent years, had five winners on Saturday and Sunday.
Martin, best known as Mickey, died Friday after a lengthy illness at the age of 63.
Arabian Lion won a maiden special weight race at six furlongs by a convincing three lengths Sunday at Santa Anita, the latest success by a 2-year-old male for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, Arabian Lion ($3.40) set the pace and pulled clear of stablemate Ellwood Blues in the final furlong. Navy Man, a first-time starter trained by Michael McCarthy, finished third, beaten 5 1/4 lengths.
Arabian Lion and Ellwood Blues were both first-time starters by Justify who had worked together in recent weeks.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Whatmakessammyrun, winner of the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes on the hillside turf course on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, will skip the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 5 at Keeneland.
Trainer Mark Glatt said Sunday that Whatmakessammyrun will be pointed to the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes, a $250,000 race on the hillside turf course on Dec. 31 at Santa Anita.
“We’re not going to Kentucky,” Glatt said.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Chad Brown will be seeking to extend his own record for wins by a trainer in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup when represented here Saturday by McKulick and Dolce Zel in the final Grade 1 race of the fall meet.
