OCEANPORT, N.J. - Nacho Friend earned an invitation to the $1 million Haskell with his second-place finish last weekend in the Long Branch Stakes. After studying the likely lineup for the Grade 1 Haskell for 3-year-olds on Aug. 1 at Monmouth Park, trainer Kelly Breen might respectfully decline the offer.
Expected runners in the Haskell include Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky, and Trappe Shot, who beat Nacho Friend by 2 1/2 lengths in the Long Branch.
AUBURN, Wash. - Vann Belvoir tops the Emerald Downs trainer standings heading into the final 41 days of the 89-day meeting. He would like to win the title, but there are bigger things on his mind these days, like trying to establish a training toehold in the Midwest. So for the time being, Belvoir, 36, is splitting time between his home base at Emerald and Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Macho Again, a Grade 1 winner who fell a head short of defeating Rachel Alexandra in an epic running of the Woodward Stakes last September, is in the process of being sold and retired from racing.
Terry Finley, president of the horse's ownership group, West Point Thoroughbreds, said Wednesday morning that a deal with "a large stud farm in Venezuela" had nearly been consummated, with only minor details still to be worked out.
"We have an agreement in principle, and unless something unforeseen happens, the horse will be sold," said Finley.
A millionaire filly who barely missed beating colts in two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, a two-time graded stakes winner in New York, and a rags-to-riches mare who went from clearing her first allowance condition to Grade 1 winner during a seven-month span head a small but intriguing lineup for Saturday's Delaware Handicap.
The Woodbine-based Milwaukee Appeal, along with New York standouts Funny Moon and Life at Ten, are clearly the three prime contenders among a field of six fillies and mares who will contest the Grade 2, $750,000 Delaware Handicap.
ELMONT, N.Y. - A field of nine older New York-breds, headed by multiple stakes winner Mor Chances, will clash in Thursday's featured eighth race at Belmont Park.
Mor Chances, whose six victories since being claimed by Rick Dutrow include five stakes, drew the outside post in the second-level optional $50,000 claimer, scheduled for the Widener turf at seven furlongs. The 6-year-old Mor Chances has trained steadily since a last-to-first win under identical conditions here seven weeks ago.
The 10-year-old Coach Jimi Lee continues to ignore Father Time. Earlier this month at Prairie Meadows, Coach Jimi Lee won for the first time in 2010, and is less than $2,000 away from his connections' goal of $1 million in career earnings.
And Coach Jimi Lee is not bottom-feeding, either. His victory came in a high-level optional $35,000 claimer.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Yes, Tuscan Evening has turned into the dominant turf female in California, with wins in all five of her 2010 starts, and California being California, we all know about this development. But to take the regional clich s a step further, the quiet, unassuming Midwesterner Hot Cha Cha may give Tuscan Evening all she wants in what is shaping up as an excellent edition of the Modesty Handicap on Saturday at Arlington Park.
The comeback of the six-time stakes winner Daytona has been postponed, trainer Dan Hendricks said on Tuesday.
A winner of 8 of 18 starts and $991,690, Daytona resumed training earlier this spring for an intended comeback this summer, but a recent injury has put those plans on hold.
"We were trying to get him back and he had a small issue that came up," Hendricks said. "We'll regroup and try to get him going by the end of the year."
Kinsale King's international travels are over for now.
The winner of the $2 million Golden Shaheen sprint in Dubai in March, Kinsale King is scheduled to return to trainer Carl O'Callaghan's Hollywood Park stable next week after mixed results racing on turf in England this summer.
INGLEWOOD, Calif.- Golden Itiz, the winner of the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap in June, is unlikely to start in Saturday's $200,000 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park after trainer Ron Ellis said on Tuesday that he was unsatisfied with the colt's recent training.
Golden Itiz worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 on Sunday, but the exercise left Ellis disappointed.
"He didn't work that well and that's not like him," Ellis said. "I don't think he'll run. We're doing a blood test."
