ARCADIA, Calif. – Harmonious won two Grade 1 stakes on turf for 3-year-old fillies in 2010, earning a reputation as one of the top members of her generation. Expect her to solidify that status in a small field in Saturday’s $150,000 Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita.
STICKNEY, Ill. -- Hawthorne Race Course canceled its Thursday program before post time because of thawing conditions the track feared would be dangerous.
At 1 p.m. Central, the temperature at nearby Midway airport was 43 degrees, by far the warmest day in December, with melting snow and ice leading to soggy conditions.
A pair of Grade 2 events during the President’s Day holiday weekend, the Barbara Fritchie Handicap for fillies and mares and the General George Handicap for older males, highlight 15 stakes that Laurel Park will hold during its 49-day winter meet that begins Saturday.
The Barbara Fritchie, on Feb. 19, and the General George two days later are both seven-furlong sprints worth $150,000.
The remainder of the stakes will be worth $75,000 apiece, a bump of $25,000 each from a year ago.
After a 2-year-old campaign of 3 wins in 10 starts, Oh La Traffic has earned a winter vacation. There is one more objective to achieve before then – another stakes win, and he’ll get his chance in Saturday’s $20,000 Holiday Handicap at Los Alamitos.
With minimal major stakes opportunities in coming months, owner Stan Young and trainer Bret Vickery said they plan to rest Oh La Traffic in the first half of 2011 and race her in the summer and fall.
ALBANY, Calif. – Jerry Hollendorfer has enjoyed success with 3-year-old fillies throughout his career, including victories by Lite Light, Pike Place Dancer, and Blind Luck in the Kentucky Oaks, and is favored to win this year’s Eclipse Award for 3-year-old fillies with Blind Luck.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – My Irish Girl, winner of 7 of 9 outings last season as a 3-year-old and a late-closing third in her first local start, tops a full field of 14 fillies and mares in the $50,000 Minaret Stakes, a six-furlong stakes that headlines Saturday’s 10-race card at Tampa Bay Downs.
My Irish Girl was claimed by Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc from a win in a $15,000 race March 12 at Oaklawn. She went on to run off a string of five more wins in a row, including stakes wins in the Claiming Crown Glass Slipper Stakes at Canterbury and the $100,000 Miss Woodford Stakes at Monmouth.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Coming off two solid victories at Delaware Park, Rush Now was one of the betting choices in the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot at Delta Downs on Nov. 20. After racing an up-close fourth early on, Rush Now backed up to finish seventh, beaten 18 lengths by Gourmet Dinner.
Rush Now, a son of Tiznow trained by Tony Dutrow, will seek to rebound in Saturday’s $65,000 Count Fleet Stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds.
Dutrow said he couldn’t come up with any excuse for Rush Now’s poor performance in the Delta Jackpot.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Nicole H, the dominant winner of the Garland of Roses here Dec. 4, heads a field of five fillies and mares entered in Saturday’s $65,000 Interborough Stakes. Only two of the 12 nominees entered the Interborough, but three horses were supplemented to the field to help make the race go.
Meese Rocks, who finished second to Nicole H in the Garland of Roses, looms the main challenger. Her stablemate, Quiet Mover, was one of the three supplements along with Bob’s Dylan and Purrfect Bluff.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Along with Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Award categories that is up for debate is that of leading jockey.
Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, and John Velazquez are the top three riders in purse money won, while DeShawn Parker, Dominguez, and Russell Baze were the leaders in races won entering the final three days of the year.
The East Coast-based trainer Chad Brown, who has shipped Upgrade to Fair Grounds for Friday's Woodchopper, could see more stakes action this meet in New Orleans. Brown, who won the recent fall training title at Aqueduct, has the majority of his horses in south Florida.
“I’ve been looking at the Fair Grounds stakes schedule real close and have some horses that might fit there,” he said. “We might be making a few appearances there.”
Brown also had a big Saratoga, winning with 17 of 56 starters at the meet.
