The purpose of sending Apollitical Jess from California to New Mexico this summer was to win lucrative races such as the $1,548,076 All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs on Sunday.
He did that – emphatically – by setting the fastest qualifying time of 20.87 seconds in the Aug. 20 time trials. Now, Apollitical Jess has to do it again in Sunday’s final, the richest Quarter Horse derby in history, or the summer will be a disappointment for owner Rancho el Cabresto and trainer Juan Aleman.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mother Russia, based at Saratoga with trainer Linda Rice, was entered here in both Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Seaway over seven furlongs on Polytrack and in Sunday’s $100,000 Avowal over seven furlongs on turf.
Her choice will be critical, particularly to the complexion of the Avowal, where she would be a leading contender in the overnight stakes for fillies and mares.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mobil Unit, who found his best form on the dirt in the Princes of Wales Stakes, will go back to the turf Sunday at Woodbine in the $125,000 Vice Regent Stakes, a one-mile route for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
Mobil Unit missed the board in each of his first two starts of the year, which included a dull display as the favorite in the Bold Ruckus Stakes on turf.
Mobil Unit was a prominent second at 13-1 in the 1 1/16-mile Prince of Wales, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie on July 25.
DEL MAR, Calif. – All week long, all trainers wanted to know about the $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes on Sunday at Del Mar was whether Switch was going to run. She is. And she’ll be heavily favored in the one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies. But nine others entered the race, so while the Torrey Pines won’t exactly be a lay-up for Switch, it should be an easy bank shot.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – When Bronze Barbarian raced two weeks ago in an optional claiming race at Fort Erie, few believed that the 4-year-old gelding had much of a chance. After all, he had lost nine straight races since winning a nonwinners-of-two allowance in July 2009 and was beaten 19 lengths in his most recent start.
Sent off at odds of 70-1, Bronze Barbarian was facing the likes of Alezzandro, I’m Spectral, and some other talented foes. Yet, trainer Carla Christoffersen differed with the public’s opinion and gave her runner a shot to win it.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Tom Proctor, the trainer of Riskaverse Stakes winner Queen of the Creek, summed it up best when talking about the last-place finisher in the race, Lisa’s Booby Trap.
“There’s no fairy tales in the horse business,” Proctor said. “It just don’t work that way.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – A week after he finished ninth in the $1 million Pacific Classic, Unusual Suspect returns in Saturday’s $75,000 Windy Sands Handicap at Del Mar.
While the easier competition in the Windy Sands Handicap is certainly a factor, the one-mile distance on the synthetic main track may be an even better fit. Of Unusual Suspect’s eight career wins, five have been at a mile or 1 1/16 miles.
Coyote Legend, the runner-up in the $100,000 Prelude last weekend at Louisiana Downs, will probably make his next start in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Oct. 10, trainer Bret Calhoun said.
Coyote Legend, who is based at Remington, has six main-track stakes wins since December and was the 4-5 favorite in the Prelude. He led the field through six furlongs in 1:13 under regular rider Bobby Walker Jr. but was overtaken in the late stages by Apart. Coyote Legend finished 1 1/2 lengths back in second in the 1 1/16-mile race and earned a Beyer Figure of 90.
