Groups representing horsemen at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs in Florida have pulled their approval for the export of their signals to Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts because of a dispute between Suffolk and its own horsemen, according to Suffolk officials.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Oftentimes, when a horse has been off for seven months, the natural assumption would be that something major happened. But as trainers will tell you, in many cases, it’s simply a whole lot of little things that can add up to one big layoff.
Take the case of Bogie, who, at long last, returns to action in Thursday’s featured seventh race at Santa Anita. Last summer, he was steadily improving, and appeared to be well positioned for the series of 3-year-old stakes races on grass at Del Mar.
Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes for older fillies and mares marks the return of St Trinians, who has not raced since a gallant second-place finish behind Zenyatta in the Vanity Handicap last June at Hollywood Park.
“You can get her to run off of workouts,” trainer Mike Mitchell said. “She’s that kind of horse. She’s never raced on dirt, so you never know, but I think she’ll love it. This is an important race. We’re aiming for the Santa Margarita, and then we’d love to look at the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, so these next two races are important.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sunrise Smarty, a sharp maiden winner at Belmont’s fall meet before concluding his 3-year-old season in two tough spots, heads a field of six older sprinters in Thursday’s feature, a six-furlong, $44,000 first-level allowance carded as race 3.
On the strength of that wire-to-wire maiden score second time on dirt for Mike Hushion, Sunrise Smarty was entered in the Groovy overnight stakes a month later and finished second to Rule by Night, who came within three ticks of Aqueduct’s seven-furlong track record.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When trainer Chad Brown entered Honeymoon Girl in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf here at Gulfstream Park a couple of weeks ago, he was still uncertain whether to rush his promising but still relatively inexperienced grass filly into stakes company just yet. After Honeymoon Girl drew post position 14, the decision about whether to run her was made.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Somebody from Oaklawn Park must have said the wrong thing to Mother Nature.
There has not been a whole lot of racing going on at Oaklawn since the season opened a day later than scheduled because of inclement weather on Jan. 15. The track has lost six of its first 16 dates, with the most severe hit coming last week, when Oaklawn was forced to call off four consecutive days, from Thursday through Sunday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill may be atop the trainers’ standings at Santa Anita, but it is John Sadler, currently in third place, who is having the best meet of all.
This past weekend, Sadler won the Strub Stakes with Twirling Candy, the Las Virgenes with Zazu, and the San Antonio with newcomer Gladding. That followed by one week the victory by Switch in the Santa Monica Handicap. And that followed by one month opening-day stakes wins by Twirling Candy in the Malibu, Switch in the La Brea, and Sidney’s Candy in the Sir Beaufort.
The field for the Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate on Saturday will include the third Grade 1 winner in the race’s history: Comma to the Top, the likely favorite, won the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity in December at Hollywood Park.
The other Grade 1 winners to have run in the race were Snow Chief, the 1986 El Camino winner, and Cara Rafaela, the first filly to run in the El Camino when she was fourth as the beaten favorite in 1996.
Drosselmeyer, winner of the 2010 Belmont Stakes in his most recent race, is scheduled to make his first start since the last leg of the Triple Crown in the Feb. 19 Mineshaft Handicap at Fair Grounds, trainer Bill Mott confirmed Tuesday morning. If Drosselmeyer performs to expectations there, he will move on to contest the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 26.
Mott said the Mineshaft offers a good opportunity to shake the rust off Drosselmeyer, who will be making his first start after an 8 1/2-month break.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Dianne Cotter said she didn’t have seller’s remorse after watching Bellamy Road go through the auction ring in 2004 as a 2-year-old for $87,000 and return a year later for George Steinbrenner to win the Wood Memorial by 17 1/2 lengths and head to Louisville as the Kentucky Derby favorite.
