Mon, 05/23/2011 - 17:28

Belmont Park: More Than Real possible for Royal Ascot

Barbara D. Livingston
More Than Real, with Garrett Gomez riding, wins the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

ELMONT, N.Y. - More Than Real, who beat Winter Memories in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, worked four furlongs in 49.11 seconds over the yielding Belmont Park turf on Monday. She started her breeze behind stablemates More Than Minted and Driven by Solar and finished ahead of both at the finish.

Todd Pletcher, who trains More Than Real, said the filly is under consideration for the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17. Pletcher said he must decide by June 6, because that’s the day North American horses are scheduled to ship to England.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 17:24

Woodbine: Bear It's Time pulls away in Lady Angela

Michael Burns
Bear It's Time wins the Lady Angela under jockey Luis Contreras.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Bear It’s Time ($3.80) parlayed an ideal stalking trip into a decisive score in the $125,000 Lady Angela Stakes on holiday Monday at Woodbine.

Robnpetertopaypaul set a tepid early pace with a strong wind at her back in the seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies. Sinister Quill pressed the leader along the inside, and was steadied at the three-eighths pole, while Bear It’s Time tracked them on the outside.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 16:34

Belmont Park: Met Mile prospects tuning up

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Caixa Eletronica, with Cornelio Velasquez riding, wins the Westchester.

ELMONT, N.Y. – A field of 11 is shaping up for next Monday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, and five of those contenders put in their final major workouts Monday morning over the main track.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who won his first Met Mile last year with Quality Road, worked a trio of Met Mile prospects on Monday including Caixa Eletronica, Aikenite, and Ibboyee.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 15:52

Arlington Park: Workin for Hops at the top of his game

Four-Footed Fotos
Workin for Hops, with James Graham up, earns a 100 Beyer for his Hanshin Cup victory.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Back at his best distance of one mile or thereabouts, Workin for Hops turned in his second straight strong performance winning the Hanshin Cup on Saturday at Arlington. The three-length victory marked his first win of the year, but Workin for Hops was coming off a good second-place finish to Get Stormy – subsequent winner of the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill – in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile over the Keeneland turf course.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 15:23

Woodbine: Paso Doble finds a home with Casse

Michael Burns
Paso Doble wins Sunday’s $125,000 New Providence Stakes at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Paso Doble has not enjoyed much stability during his career, spending time in five different barns before being shipped to Mark Casse in Florida this year.

But it would appear that Paso Doble, a 5-year-old gelding who races for the Centennial Farm (Niagara) syndicate, has found a home based on his impressive victory here in last Sunday’s $125,000 New Providence Stakes.

Purchased by his current owners last fall, Paso Doble finished the season here and then was sent to Casse in Florida.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 15:11

Turf Paradise business numbers mixed

Daily average handle at Turf Paradise was off for the recently concluded meet, with an increase in total ontrack handle and a decrease in total all-sources handle for the 155-day 2010-11 meeting, which ran eight days longer than the 2009-10 meeting. The meet at the Phoenix track began last Oct. 1 and ended May 8.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 14:39

Belmont Park: Sky Blazer takes on elders on turf

ELMONT, N.Y. – Youth, not to mention talent, may be served in Wednesday’s feature race at Belmont Park as Sky Blazer, the only 3-year-old in the field, faces a group of seemingly ordinary older males in a $53,000, first-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf course.

There is a pick-six carryover of $43,718 entering Wednesday’s card, and five of the six races in the sequence are scheduled for the turf, though intermittent rain is forecast throughout the week.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 14:15

Woodbine: Dance to the Moon looks ready to rebound

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dance to the Moon seems poised to find the winner’s circle in Wednesday’s seventh race at Woodbine, an Ontario-sired allowance for nonwinners of three. The seven-furlong event is the final leg of the pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $75,000.

Dance to the Moon graduated in a seven-furlong maiden special on Oct. 31. Three weeks later, she doubled up in an Ontario-sired allowance, in which she beat a weak field after setting a sleepy pace. She failed to stay 1 1/16 miles on the frigid final day of the 2010 meet.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:33

Shackleford, Animal Kingdom may resume rivalry in Belmont Stakes

Debra A. Roma
Shackleford holds off Animal Kingdom to win the Preakness. Both horses could meet again in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

While the upset victory by Shackleford in the 136th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico denied Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom a chance to shoot for the Triple Crown, there is a good chance that the final leg of the Triple Crown, the June 11 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, will feature a showdown between the Derby and Preakness winners, a matchup that has not taken place in the Belmont since 2005.

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 10:50

Preakness Day business a mixed bag at Pimlico

Business figures for the Preakness Stakes and its undercard on Saturday were a mixed bag, providing no clear guidance as to whether racing’s big events can help the sport emerge from a prolonged and dramatic slide.

Handle on the Preakness itself was up, while handle on the entire card was down, according to the chart of the Preakness and figures provided by Pimlico. Attendance at Pimlico on a sunny day with mildly warm temperatures was up compared to last year, while television ratings for the race were down.