HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Joyful Victory solidified her status as one of the top choices for next month’s Kentucky Oaks with a seven-length victory over the previously undefeated Arienza in the Grade 2, $300,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park on Sunday.
The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies continued the Racing Festival of the South, when Oaklawn puts on at least one major stakes per card through the end of the season on April 16.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Game On Dude, who won the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 5, will be ridden by David Flores in the $1 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on Saturday, trainer Bob Baffert said.
Flores will replace Chantal Sutherland, who won the first Grade 1 race of her career on Game On Dude in the Big Cap.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Comma to the Top, a close second to Midnight Interlude in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby, may run in the Kentucky Derby on May 7 after all.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Life At Ten, making her first start since finishing last in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, finished second, five lengths behind The Isabella Angel, in a $80,100 optional claiming race Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Beaten but not broken, 2010 juvenile champion Uncle Mo remains a candidate for the May 7 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, but the connections of the Wood Memorial third-place finisher will take some blood work on the colt Tuesday to see if there were any issues with him going into or coming out of the race.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Factor, who will be favored in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 at Santa Anita on Sunday, his final major exercise before the key Kentucky Derby prep.
The Factor worked alone under jockey Martin Garcia and galloped out a mile in 1:38.20, according to trainer Bob Baffert.
“He needed it,” Baffert said. “We got a good work into him. That’s all that he needs.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Havre de Grace tuned up for a start for the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap by breezing five furlongs in a bullet 57.80 seconds on Sunday morning at her Oaklawn Park base. It was her final prep for the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares that will be run Friday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Blind Luck, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2010, will skip Friday’s $500,000 Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park in favor of the $300,000 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 6, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Monday.
“It’s a big purse and all that,” Hollendorfer said of the Apple Blossom, “but I think the Churchill Downs stretch is better for her to close from off the pace.”
Jess Tee Off outgamed Evans Express to win the Grade 2, $600,000 Sam Houston Quarter Horse Futurity by a neck Saturday night at Sam Houston Race Park. The race was the richest in the history of the track.
Jess Tee Off ($16.40) dueled with Evans Express throughout and covered 330 yards in 16.79 seconds. Rodrigo Vallejo was aboard for what was his fourth win in the Sam Houston Futurity.
Vallejo’s other wins in the Sam Houston Futurity came with Royal Shake Em in 1996, Azoom in 2004, and All American Winner in 2005.
The millionaire sprinter Fabulous Strike made a successful return from 18 months on the sidelines Saturday night, winning a six-furlong allowance worth $42,560 at his home track, Penn National Race Course.
