ARCADIA, Calif. - It's time for Dixie Chatter to finish his job.
After finishing third or fourth in four consecutive graded stakes from October to March, Dixie Chatter starts in a tough running of the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap on Saturday. The one-mile turf race has drawn Desert Code, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last October, and Madeo, the winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby last August, as part of a field of nine.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It often happens that the best horse at 2 is no longer the best at 3. So when Stardom Bound was all out to win a four-horse photo in her last race, the Santa Anita Oaks, there was the predictable dialogue about how the rest of the class had caught up, how the filly had not progressed from one season to the next, how the end of her reign as a divisional champion was at hand.
Rick Dutrow, the new trainer of Stardom Bound, doesn't want to believe those things. Can't believe them. Won't believe them.
When Squirtle Squirt won the 2001 Breeders' Cup Sprint, owner David Lanzman said he couldn't imagine accomplishing anything more significant in racing. When people in the industry kept telling him that it was nothing like participating in the Kentucky Derby, Lanzman would get offended.
This year, as the owner of the top 3-year-old prospect I Want Revenge, Lanzman is finding out that he was indeed wrong.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - There were only a few dozen patrons on hand at the time but those who showed up an hour early for Wednesday's card at Gulfstream Park were treated to a much better show than the replays from Tuesday's races at Philadelphia Park or Beulah. Instead they got to see one of the most talented, versatile, and crowd-pleasing horses in the country - the ageless Commentator, who worked a half-mile over the main track shortly after noon.
Chris Fackler has had little problem making the leap from apprentice to journeyman jockey. Two weeks after losing his apprentice allowance, Fackler enjoyed one of the top weekends of his career last week and is challenging for the lead in the rider standings at Fonner Park.
With a purse of up to $1 million, the inaugural Charles Town Classic on April 18 is certain to lure some major talent from out of town, including graded stakes winners Commentator and Macho Again. But there s also a locally based horse who merits serious respect.
Researcher, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Jeff Runco, tuned up for a possible start in the Classic by breaking the track record for 1 1/8 miles last Saturday night.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Who says blondes have more fun?
Rachel Alexandra, a dark bay - or brunette - had a blast Wednesday morning at Oaklawn in her final prep for Sunday's Grade 2, $250,000 Fantasy. Looking every bit the part of one of the nation's top 3-year-old fillies, she took to the track at 7:15 a.m. on a 45 degree morning and breezed a half-mile in an effortless 47.60 seconds.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - While the 8 1/2-length romp by I Want Revenge in last month's Grade 3 Gotham Stakes was a bit of a surprise to his connections, a similar result in Saturday's $750,000 Wood Memorial won't be.
"It's almost scary for us; we think he's better now than he was going into the Gotham," co-owner David Lanzman said during a national conference call this week.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The Pamplemousse, the morning-line favorite in the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday, drew the outside post on Wednesday when a field of 10 was entered in the 1 1/8-mile race. Pioneerof the Nile, his primary rival, landed post 4.
Jeff Tufts, Santa Anita's morning-line maker, made The Pamplemousse the 9-5 choice, with Pioneerof the Nile slightly higher at 2-1.
