OLDSMAR, Fla. - Kathleen O'Connell must feel like a Nascar driver in the final laps of a 500-mile race, checking her fuel gauge and asking for her chief competitor's lap times, as she attempts to hold off the late surging Jamie Ness stable in the battle for leading trainer in the closing days of the meet at Tampa Bay Downs.
O'Connell enjoyed the best year of her training career in 2009 and carried over that momentum to this season, leading the standings for much of the meeting.
ALBANY, Calif. - Mission accomplished!
Bold Chieftain attained the final goal set by his connections with his victory in the Grade 2 San Francisco Mile on Saturday on the Golden Gate Fields turf, notching his first graded stakes victory.
Bold Chieftain also provided Russell Baze with his first victory in the San Francisco Mile. Baze, who has more wins than any other jockey, had finished second in the Mile on six previous occasions.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Audre Cappuccitti was concerned Essence Hit Man could be up against it in last Sunday's $174,800 Woodstock, his first start since last October.
But Essence Hit Man proved there was nothing to fear, breaking from the inside post in the field of seven 3-year-olds and leading all the way to score a three-quarter-length victory.
"I didn't expect that at all," Cappuccitti said. "I was in shock. I'd said if he ran third or fourth, I'd be happy."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The complexion of the 136th Kentucky Derby this Saturday at Churchill Downs changed dramatically in the 24 hours ending Monday, going from a race seemingly dominated, at least parimutuelly, by Eskendereya, to a more wide-open race that now will include the filly Devil May Care.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Perhaps the only thing worse than rain on Derby Day is rain the week of the race, when the majority of the contenders stabled at Churchill Downs get in their final works.
Four consecutive days of rain altered training schedules and forced Derby hopefuls to gallop and work over a racetrack that may not have been to their liking and may bear little resemblance to the one they'll compete over on Derby Day.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sunland Derby winner Endorsement returned to regular morning training Monday, shushing whispers that something might be amiss after he got an unexpected day off Sunday.
Endorsement had tentatively been scheduled for a five-furlong workout Sunday morning, but trainer Shannon Ritter, readying her first Kentucky Derby runner, elected not only to cancel the work but to keep Endorsement in the barn. Ritter said she preferred not to work Endorsement over a wet track and that she likes to give her horses a day off every week.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The news that Eskendereya would not run in this year's Kentucky Derby overshadowed anything that happened on the racetrack here Sunday. Activity was limited to a five-furlong workout by Dublin just minutes after the track opened at 5:45 a.m. and the usual rush of gallopers following the renovation break nearly three hours later.
The track was officially listed as "muddy" for the early training session before being upgraded to "good" after the break. A fairly stiff headwind prevailed through the stretch.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eskendereya, the strong favorite for Saturday's 136th Kentucky Derby, was withdrawn from the race Sunday morning because of swelling in his left front leg, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Pletcher said "hopefully, it's not career-threatening," but said it was too early to tell.
"We'll do the diagnostics when we get the swelling out of his leg," Pletcher said at a news conference at Churchill Downs.
