The brilliant sprinter Kopion is likely to start at a longer distance for the first time in more than a year in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on Aug. 2.
A move from sprints to a two-turn race may determine an autumn race schedule for Kopion, trainer Richard Mandella said on Friday.
“Right now, I’m thinking of running her,” Mandella said. “I’ll watch her and make a decision.
“She’s been acting like she wants to go farther. She settles in her races now.”
The 2-year-old filly Glory Me won her debut at Ellis Park on July 14 with enough verve that she’s headed to Saratoga.
By Gun Runner out of Our Khrysty, by Newfoundland, Glory Me, a $975,000 auction buy owned by Lael Stables, sat sixth during the early stages of a 6 1/2-furlong maiden, hit full stride coming into the stretch under Brian Hernandez Jr., and drew clear for a four-length win. Visually, the effort felt stronger than her 64 Beyer Speed Figure and suggested Glory Me will comfortably get longer distances.
The 3-year-old colt Owen Almighty, freshened since a valiant run in the Kentucky Derby, and the 3-year-old filly Shred the Gnar, scratched from the Acorn Stakes last month at Saratoga, both are on their way back to racing action for trainer Brian Lynch and owner Flying Dutchmen Racing and Breeding.
Gulfstream Park has announced the stakes schedule for its Sunshine meet. The Grade 3, $200,000 Princess Rooney Invitational, which has been a springboard for recent female sprint champions Soul of an Angel (2024) and Ce Ce (2021), is set for Sept. 20.
The seven-furlong race is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint later this year at Del Mar. Soul of an Angel won last year’s Princess Rooney and BC Filly and Mare Sprint, while Ce Ce captured both races in 2021.
Trainer Jose D’Angelo has had runners in Royal Ascot races each of the last two years, and those horses could both see stakes action next month at Saratoga. Shisospicy, a Grade 3 winner who was 15th in the Commonwealth Cup in her last start June 20 at Ascot, is now based at Saratoga, D’Angelo said.
“We’re looking to run at Saratoga one time or point for Kentucky Downs,” he said.
Flavien Prat, champion jockey of 2024 and currently third in the standings at Saratoga through Wednesday, will ride at Del Mar on July 26.
Prat is booked to ride Nysos in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles, and World Record in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs.
Nysos, trained by Bob Baffert, is rated as a leading older horse and has won 4 of 5 starts, including the Grade 3 Triple Bend Stakes at seven furlongs by 5 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita on May 31.
At 79 and nearly five years removed from his last stakes win at Del Mar, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer may produce an upset with Bodi Zafa in Friday’s $100,000 Oceanside Stakes on the opening day of the famous track’s summer meeting.
Bodi Zafa was second at 15-1 after a wide trip in his California debut in the Cinema Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 11. At the time, Bodi Zafa was trained by John Sadler, and was subsequently transferred to Hollendorfer by owner George Todaro.
Rosemary Pasquarello was named clerk of scales by the New York Racing Association. She is believed to be the first woman to hold that position on this circuit.
Pasquarello replaces Jack Welsh, who resigned that position in March. Pasquarello has been working in the jockeys’ room, alongside assistant clerk of scales Brian Pochman, since March.
The clerk of scales is responsible for making sure the jockeys carry the correct weight, get to the paddock on time, and are wearing the correct silks.
Trainer Tom Amoss won two races from seven starters during the first week of the Saratoga meet, but the best is likely yet to come.
Amoss ended the Churchill Downs meet by sending out the 2-year-old colt Dazzle d’Oro to a smart-looking three-length victory in a field off 11. He showed good speed from the gate, turned back an upper-stretch challenge from Blackout Time, and drew away from that one, who finished 7 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.
Dazzle d’Oro covered the six furlongs in 1:08.65 and earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure.
Jockey Abel Lezcano, who has won 11 races this year, is booked on three mounts on Friday’s opening day at Del Mar after receiving a temporary restraining order earlier this month against the California Horse Racing Board for a seven-day suspension recently.
Lezcano was cited for careless riding in the ninth race at Los Alamitos on June 27. Track stewards suspended Lezcano for failing to maintain a straight course and causing an incident in which another rider was unseated.
