OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The first stakes of Aqueduct’s winter meet didn’t go as trainer Rob Atras had hoped, with Sadie Lady finishing fourth in last Saturday’s $100,000 Garland of Roses.
Atras will hope for better results this weekend when he runs Chateau in Sunday’s $100,000 Gravesend Stakes and the pair of Olliemyboy and You’re to Blame in the $125,000 Queens County, also on Sunday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The first time Safe Conduct ever stepped on a synthetic racetrack, he liked it so much he went out and won the $1 million Queen’s Plate on Aug. 22 at Woodbine. The second time came late Monday morning at Gulfstream Park, where Safe Conduct worked an easy five furlongs in 1:00.72 with exercise rider Lisa Bartkowski aboard.
The work was the first for Safe Conduct since his second-place finish behind Never Surprised on the turf in the Gio Ponti Stakes on Nov. 26 at Aqueduct. He is prepping for the Tropical Park Derby on turf here Dec. 26.
The Louisiana Racing Commission on Monday voted to postpone for 30 days action on Delta Downs’s request to resume night racing on Fridays and Saturdays after jockeys raised concerns about the new track lighting system, which has undergone upgrades. Delta will continue with daytime posts from Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Unraced since July 3, when he was narrowly beaten in the Suburban Stakes, 2021 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide hit another milestone toward his return to racing when he had his first post-layoff timed workout Sunday at Fair Grounds.
This was merely a three-furlong drill clocked in 37.80 seconds, but the work left a positive impression on Michael Stidham, who trains the Godolphin homebred.
“Beautiful. He floated over the track. He looked great, did it the right way, and we’re happy to get him back going,” Stidham said.
Early in 2021, Brad Cox was scouting Concert Tour, watching him train and race and wondering how his own promising 3-year-olds stacked up against the Bob Baffert-trained colt. In the Arkansas Derby, Cox-trained Caddo River finished second, a head in front of Concert Tour.
Fast forward to fall and Cox’s perspective has radically changed: He now trains Concert Tour, and after the colt had his first work at Fair Grounds, going a half-mile in 49.80 seconds Sunday morning, Cox is scouting condition books, looking for a race.
“He’s getting very close,” Cox said.
Tom Amoss on Sunday confirmed the retirement of Grade 1-winning Louisiana-bred sprinter No Parole.
No Parole on Saturday finished last of 10 in the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint at Fair Grounds, that following a start Oct. 30 at Delta Downs in which he was eased.
The Delta race was No Parole’s first since he finished last on April 17 in the Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park, and No Parole, a 4-year-old Violence colt owned by Maggi Moss and Greg Tramontin, clearly had lost the ability that won him the Grade 1 Woody Stephens in June 2020.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The coupled entry of Life Is Great and Hagler give owner Esteban Vargas a strong one-two punch in Thursday’s allowance/optional claiming feature for 2-year-olds, scheduled for seven furlongs at Aqueduct.
Life Is Great, a son of Tapiture trained by Bob Klesaris, is coming off a 6 3/4-length maiden win on Nov. 20, a race in which he ran seven furlongs in 1:24.64 and earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Until the final furlong of Saturday’s Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, top California jockey Flavien Prat and trainer Bob Baffert appeared on their way to a four-win afternoon.
Prat was aboard the Baffert-trained 1-2 favorite Messier, who led briefly in the stretch of the $300,000 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles. Slow Down Andy led in early stretch, and lost his advantage to Messier only to retake the lead en route to a one-length win.
Rombauer is working toward a comeback in early 2022 after a successful 3-year-old season that included a win in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in May and a third in the Belmont Stakes in June.
Owned by John and Diane Fradkin, Rombauer rejoined trainer Michael McCarthy’s stable earlier this fall. Saturday at Santa Anita, Rombauer worked a half-mile in 49.60 seconds, his third workout since resuming training.
McCarthy said Rombauer’s race plans will be not determined until the colt has a few workouts at five furlongs.
Country Grammer, unraced since a win in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May, has rejoined trainer Bob Baffert’s stable for a 2022 campaign.
Saturday at Santa Anita, Country Grammer worked a half-mile in 50.40 seconds, the colt’s first major exercise of his comeback.
A 4-year-old, Country Grammer was transferred from Baffert to Todd Pletcher in New York last June in the weeks after the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit tested positive for the banned raceday medication betamethasone in the Kentucky Derby.
