HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Clairiere emerged from her runner-up finish in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn in excellent condition and is now settled in at Churchill Downs, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday.
Clairiere was a fast-closing second in the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom last Saturday. She finished 1 1/4 lengths behind champion Letruska and a half-length in front of third-place finisher and champion Ce Ce.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Greeley and Ben, who was one of the winningest horses in North America in 2021, hit a milestone of 20 career wins Sunday at Oaklawn Park.
And he did it with style.
Greeley and Ben tracked the pace from the rail in a conditioned allowance that carried a $62,500 claiming option, got through along the inside in the stretch, and shuttled home to cover six furlongs in a super-quick 1:08.67. For the effort, Greeley and Ben earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Slipstream, who won the Palisades Stakes on April 10 at Keeneland in his 3-year-old debut, is being pointed to the Group 1 Commonwealth Stakes, a six-furlong race at the Royal Ascot meeting in June, trainer Christophe Clement said Sunday.
“At the moment, he is going to be trained to go there” or the Paradise Creek on May 29 at Belmont Park, Clement said. “Ascot is a much more exciting race and at the moment that would be our main goal.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Coming off their weekend stakes wins, Unanimous Consent and Consumer Spending will both be stretched out a little farther in distance for their next start.
Unanimous Consent, who won Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Woodhaven Stakes for 3-year-olds by 1 3/4 lengths, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pennine Ridge at 1 1/8 miles on June 4. Unanimous Consent, a son of More Than Ready, improved his record to 3 for 3. He earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Manny Franco became a go-to rider for trainer Chad Brown during the six months racing was held at Aqueduct, winning 20 races from 46 mounts between the winter and spring meets. While many of the regular riders Brown uses will be back at Belmont following the Kentucky Derby on May 7, Brown said he still plans to keep Franco as part of his rotation.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Bank Sting and Make Mischief, two of the more talented New York-bred female runners on the grounds, are both pointing to the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian Stakes at Belmont Park on May 14.
Bank Sting, a daughter of Central Banker, is 7 for 9 with four stakes wins. Most recently, she won the Heavenly Prize Invitational at Aqueduct on March 5.
Tonja Terranova, assistant trainer to her husband, John, said, “Even if she gets graded stakes-placed, that would be good.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Miss Brazil made a successful return to the races last Friday, going wire to wire in winning a third-level allowance by 1 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct. She ran six furlongs in 1:10.91 and earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
Miss Brazil, who was making her first start since she ran fifth in the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes last July 9, will now target the Grade 3, $150,000 Vagrancy on May 14.
The battle for leading trainer at the Keeneland spring meet might well come down to the wire. Wesley Ward holds a 9-8 lead over Brad Cox into the final three-day stretch of the 15-day meet, with both trainers having a number of live chances through Friday, closing day.
Ward has entries in nine races, including several in which he has a stable coupling. Cox has entries in eight races, including two with a coupling. Chad Brown, who has seven wins, has a total of five entries Wednesday and Thursday but none on Friday.
War Like Goddess will make her 5-year-old debut Friday as a heavy favorite in the closing-day feature at Keeneland, the Grade 3 Bewitch, with a new jockey in Joel Rosario. The stretch-running mare is one of seven fillies and mares in the $300,000 Bewitch, which goes at 1 1/2 miles on the turf.
Fulsome, who has served as a workmate for Kentucky Derby-bound stablemate Zozos recently, will have his own date under the twin spires on the first weekend in May, as he targets the Grade 2, $500,000 Alysheba Stakes.
Fulsome won three stakes during his 2021 campaign, including the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs. In his first outing this season, he won the Oaklawn Mile by a neck over Cezanne on April 2.
