ELMONT, N.Y. – Two-year-olds dominate Thursday’s card at Belmont Park, which features five juvenile races, including the $60,000 Friendly Beauty overnight stakes.
The six-furlong Friendly Beauty drew nine New York-bred fillies, headed by Yawkey Way, who won her first two starts at Saratoga for Chad Brown, including the Ann Clare overnight stakes.
Yawkey Way had some anxious moments when keyed up and in tight down the backstretch of the Ann Clare, but recovered nicely to draw away late at 3-5.
In just one start, Golden Moka has placed an ownership group led by retired jockey Rene Douglas in an enviable position. The horse more than paid for himself when he handily knocked off a $500,000 stakes in July. And by virtue of that win, he could go favored Saturday in the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
Specialists at Northwestern University near Chicago have decided that the rider Michael Martinez is not a candidate for a clinical trial using embryonic stem cells to treat spinal-cord injuries, according to the track physician at Golden Gate Fields, where Martinez was severely injured in a fall on Sept. 12.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Miss Keller’s success in last Sunday’s Grade 2 Canadian Stakes was a high note on an otherwise disappointing weekend for trainer Roger Attfield.
It all began early Saturday morning when Attfield received a call from his assistant, Suzanne Lorimer, informing him that No Explaining, who had been shipped to Belmont for the Grade 1 Garden City, was not in the best of health.
“She had a head cold, and of course we had to scratch her,” said Attfield. “That was the start of a bad day.”
Kentucky Downs ended its four-day meet Monday with a gross all-sources handle of $4,473,195, which represents a 14 percent increase over last year at the turf-only track in Franklin, Ky. However, only 24 races were run last year over three days, versus 30 races over four days in 2010, which means the average all-sources per-race handle was down about 5 percent.
Ontrack handle on the 30 races this year was $304,909. There are no attendance figures because admission is free.
Golden Gate Fields does not have another stakes race on its schedule until Oct. 23, but it has put together a pair of stakes-caliber fields for fans Thursday and Friday.
“We’re really trying to help our trainers who have good horses,” said Golden Gate Fields general manager Robert Hartman. “Our stakes schedule was a little light this meet, but we’re putting emphasis on making better races go.”
Thursday’s classified allowance race, which carries a purse of $33,000, is for fillies and mares on the turf and will serve as a prep for the Oct. 30 Cal Cup races at Hollywood Park.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Safety Zone has made his way down and back up the claiming ladder this year and will try to continue his winning ways Thursday at Woodbine in the fifth race, a second-level optional claimer that’s scheduled for seven furlongs on the grass.
Safety Zone kicked off his campaign May 22 by running second in a $50,000 claimer over seven furlongs on the lawn behind Woodbourne, who finished a bang-up third in last Sunday’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. Three weeks later, he chased that rival home again when second in a nine-furlong tilt for $40,000 stock.
MIAMI – Just about everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for Little Drama before and during his race here Saturday, making the 2-year-old’s neck victory over Motin in the seven-furlong, entry-level allowance dash even more satisfying for trainer David Fawkes.
Little Drama was a handful in the post parade, acting up behind the gate and unseating jockey Jose Angel Garcia briefly just prior to post time. Once under way, he immediately found himself in trouble when buffeted about between horses after the break.
Trickmeister, the undefeated 3-year-old who was targeting Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, was not entered for that race after his connections were displeased with how the colt came out of a workout Monday morning.
Trickmeister worked five furlongs Monday morning in 1:02.67 over Aqueduct’s main track, but trainer Rick Dutrow was not happy with the way the horse was traveling behind and ultimately had him vanned over to the Ruffian Equine Medical Center across the street from Belmont Park where he was to undergo a bone scan.
The field for Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby was beginning to take shape on Monday, with Golden Moka, winner of the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, and Distorted Economy, an up and coming horse for trainer Neil Drysdale, committing to the race. Hurricane Ike, who two starts ago won the Grade 3 Derby Trial, is now a strong possibility for the Louisiana Downs fixture for trainer John Sadler.
“We’re leaning toward going,” Sadler said Monday.