OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Patrick Biancone was very confident heading into the $400,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes last Saturday at Monmouth Park.
Biancone never dreamed his Queen Martha would upset the defending Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra. Biancone did firmly believe he was sending out the second-best horse.
Queen Martha proved him right.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Enriched will return following a week-long break in Saturday’s $200,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, just seven days after a third in the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes on turf.
It will not be the quickest turnaround of his career. Last fall, Enriched finished fifth in the Grade 1 Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park on Friday, Nov. 27, and then finished second in an optional claimer on Wednesday, Dec. 2, just five days later.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A small but select field of seven, led by two time defending champion Forever Together, was drawn for Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga. The group of fillies and mares includes the late inclusion of 2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Maram.
Chad Brown, tied with Todd Pletcher for the top spot in the trainer standings with three winners on opening weekend, said he wrestled with the notion of running Maram in the Diana for several weeks before ultimately deciding to pull the trigger and put her in the entry box.
BOSSIER city, La. – A competitive third-level allowance/optional claimer for fillies and mares tops the menu on Friday afternoon at Louisiana Downs with a variety of betting options available to the public. The mile and 70-yard affair on the main track drew a field of seven and goes as the third race of the afternoon.
AUBURN, Wash. – The training title is very much up for grabs as Emerald Downs enters the final two months of its 89-day meeting. Vann Belvoir began the week with 39 victories, one ahead of Frank Lucarelli and Tim McCanna, and those three are poised to duke it out over the final 33 days.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The last time Weathered raced at Saratoga, it was against Grade 1 competition last summer in the Go For Wand Handicap and Personal Ensign. When the hard-knocking mare returns to the Spa on Friday, she’ll find the opposition far less formidable taking on fellow New York-breds in the $70,000 Fleet Indian Stakes.
AUBURN, Wash. – Claiming activity, surprisingly brisk at Emerald Downs this summer, reached a crescendo of sorts last Sunday when two horses, both promising 2-year-old maidens, were taken from the first race. The purchase price for each was $30,000, a hefty sum at a track with a daily average purse distribution of about $90,000.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – John Kimmel knows Friend or Foe has a lot to overcome when he makes his graded stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga.
But in Friend or Foe, Kimmel also knows he has a lot of horse.
Friend or Foe, undefeated in three starts, is one of several intriguing 3-year-olds set to contest the Jim Dandy, the local prep for the $1 million Travers Stakes here Aug. 28. The Jim Dandy is run at 1 1/8 miles.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The case of Fifty Proof has been the talk of the track this week.
Fifty Proof, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Ian Black, had won a restricted first-level allowance race in seemingly routine fashion here last Thursday, scoring by 4 3/4 lengths under Justin Stein as the 3-4 choice.
But, shortly after the stewards had made the result official, they were informed that Fifty Proof’s starting stall appeared to have opened a fraction before the others in the six-horse field.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Richard’s Kid was a busy horse at the 2009 Del Mar meeting. He made three starts in seven weeks, and won the season’s biggest race – the $1 million Pacific Classic.
The Pacific Classic is the goal again this year, on Aug. 28, but getting there will not be as strenuous. Trainer Bob Baffert has one start planned for Richard’s Kid in the buildup, Friday’s $125,000 Cougar II Handicap over 1 1/2 miles on the Polytrack synthetic surface or Saturday’s $200,000 San Diego Handicap.