ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Wednesday marked the final day of jockey Omar Moreno’s apprenticeship, and he had five mounts on the nine-race program here at Woodbine Racetrack. But Moreno’s night ended early as he was suffering from sinusitis and had to book off after his first two rides.

The condition had worsened by Thursday morning, and although Moreno breezed a horse in the morning and wanted to ride, he took the advice of his agent, former jockey Jack Lauzon, and went home to bed.

“He looked terrible,” said Lauzon. “His face was all swollen, right across.”

Trainer Henry Dominguez will be coming at the competition from every possible pace angle at Zia Park on Saturday, when he sends out a front-runner, a stalker, and a closer in the $55,000 Distaff.

The six-furlong race for fillies and mares drew a field of 10.

After dominating three foes in a restricted stakes less than two weeks ago, the 2-year-old colt Ucan’tcme will wheel right back to face 11 other Pennsylvania-bred juveniles in Saturday’s $75,000 Pennslvania Nursery, the last stakes of the season at Parx Racing.

Ben’s Cat had a tougher time than expected, but managed to extend his unbeaten streak to eight races in Wednesday’s $36,000 allowance feature at Laurel Park.

The 6-5 favorite under regular rider Julian Pimentel, Ben’s Cat ($4.40) held off a late rally by longshot Fonda Ronda to prevail by a half-length, covering one mile in 1:39.08..

“That was scary. He almost got beat,” said owner-trainer King Leatherbury. “The jock says that once he gets to the front then he plays around.”

Quantum Miss looked like a standout on paper and she performed like one on the track to dominate Wednesday night's $75,000 Blue Mountain Juvenile for 2-year-old fillies at Penn National Race Course.

Based at Parx Racing with trainer Tony Dutrow, Quantum Miss ($2.60) cruised to a 16-length victory under jockey Jeremy Rose while running six furlongs in a swift 1:09.78.

Third in her career debut in September, Quantum Miss defeated open maiden special weight company on Oct. 29 by 5 1/4 lengths in her second lifetime start.

After running one race on Wednesday, Portland Meadows canceled racing for the second straight day due to poor track conditions.

Portland has been hit with a massive cold snap this week, which has contributed to the problems with the racing surface.

With temperatures expected to rise over the holiday weekend, the XpressBet Jockey Challenge is still on tap for next Monday.
 

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Cindy Jones will look to put an exclamation point on her brief, albeit successful, one-year training career on Saturday when she runs No Such Word in the Grade 1, $250,000 Gazelle Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.

Cindy Jones took over the head training duties from her husband, Larry, who retired late last year. Larry Jones recently announced he will return to head trainer in 2011 while Cindy Jones will look to take some time off following Saturday’s Gazelle.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. − At the end of his 3-year-old year, Girolamo looked to be developing into one of the top milers in the game. But since his victory in the Grade 2 Jerome 13 months ago, Girolamo has yet to run back in a one-mile race.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - This will be a last chance autumn and winter for Reba Is Tops to pad her career statistics.

Scheduled to be bred next year in Kentucky, Reba Is Tops, 6, will start in Friday’s $55,000 Raise Your Skirt Stakes over six furlongs on turf as the likely favorite.

The turf sprint is the sort of race in which Reba Is Tops has thrived in recent years. A three-time stakes winner, she has placed in five stakes in her 25-race career.

NEW ORLEANS – Desert Wheat has been around the block a time or two. How do we know? Well, the race in which he starts on Friday at Fair Grounds, the Mr. Sulu Stakes, is named for a horse against whom Desert Wheat used to compete.