HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - In the boldest move yet to bring Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta together for the first time in a race, Oaklawn Park president Charles Cella announced Thursday that the purse of the April 3 Apple Blossom will be raised to $5 million if both horses start.
If the matchup fails to materialize, the purse for the Grade 1 stakes will remain at its originally scheduled $500,000.
NEW ORLEANS - Bubbler fought back in a prolonged stretch duel to beat odds-on favorite Never Retreat by a nose in Saturday's $60,000 at Fair Grounds.
The race, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf, was reduced to five starters when it was moved to the main track. Bubbler, the second choice at 8-5, was entered for the main track only.
Zenyatta, the undefeated champion older female of 2009, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.60 at Hollywood Park on Wednesday.
Trainer John Shirreffs said Zenyatta has been training steadily and that the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap on March 13 remains a possible first start this year.
"That's the race we'd like to run in," Shirreffs said. "I don't want to have her on a real tight schedule."
Zenyatta became the first female to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in November, her most recent start.
Four months after he finished sixth in the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita, Dave in Dixie resumes his career in Saturday's $150,000 Robert Lewis Stakes, the first stakes of 2010 for 3-year-olds around two turns in California.
The Grade 2 Lewis will be an important test for Dave in Dixie, who has made just two starts in his career, beginning with an impressive maiden win at Del Mar last summer.
Last fall, trainer John Sadler considered the Breeders' Cup Juvenile for Dave in Dixie but opted to skip that race after pre-entering the colt.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There are rumblings of a winter storm headed to the New York area for the start of the weekend, which could put Saturday's $100,000 Whirlaway Stakes for 3-year-olds in jeopardy of being rescheduled. If Saturday's card were to be canceled, the Whirlaway would move to Feb. 13, according to the New York Racing Association's racing secretary, P.J. Campo.
Trainer Gary Contessa said a one-week postponement wouldn't be so terrible for his speedy 3-year-old Eightyfiveinafifty, who is scheduled to make his first start around two turns in the 1 1/16-mile Whirlaway.
Friesan Fire's owners, the Vinery Stable and Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms, brought Friesan Fire back for a 2010 campaign to try and add a Grade 1 victory to the 4-year-old colt's resume. But the path to the Grade 1 apparently will pass through the Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap on Feb. 20 at Fair Grounds, Friesan Fire's probable next start, according to trainer Steve Asmussen.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Uh Oh Bango, who put up the highest Beyer Speed Figure for a 2-year-old colt in 2009, is being pointed to the 3-year-old series at Oaklawn.
Trainer Kory Owens said earlier this week that he is targeting Oaklawn's Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel on March 13 as the horse's first start of the year. Uh Oh Bango last raced Dec. 4, when he finished second by a neck in the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs. He was freshened after that race and had his second work back Tuesday at his Turf Paradise base in Phoenix.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The timing of owner Larry Smith's arrival at Del Mar late in the afternoon of Sept. 4 could not have been better.
With that afternoon's first race quickly approaching, trainer Dan Hendricks was desperate to submit a claim for the maiden claimer Diferentkindagreat. But Hendricks did not have authorization to act on behalf of Smith and co-owners K.B. Sareen and John Pagano. When Smith arrived before the first race, the issue was cleared up.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth lost a pair of potential prospects earlier this week after Winslow Homer and Piscitelli were both found to have injuries that will keep them sidelined at least through the spring.
Both Winslow Homer and Piscitelli made their 3-year-old debuts in the Grade 3 Holy Bull here Jan. 23. Winslow Homer rallied to defeat Jackson Bend by three-quarters of a length in the one-mile Holy Bull, while Piscitelli briefly forced the pace before being eased to the wire last in the field of nine, 18 lengths behind the winner.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Despite the imposing presence of 123-pound highweight Quality Road, a surprisingly large field of 10 horses was drawn Wednesday for Saturday's $500,000 Donn Handicap, one of two Grade 1 stakes on the card along with the $300,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap.
Quality Road will concede from six to 10 pounds in a lineup that also includes graded stakes winners Kiss the Kid, Duke of Mischief, Dry Martini, Mambo Meister, and Delightful Kiss. The field also includes You and I Forever, Helsinki, Past the Point, and Dubai Gold.
