ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Reade Baker took home the Sovereign Award as Canada's outstanding trainer in 2005, and has been a finalist in his category in the two succeeding seasons.
This year, Baker has campaigned two probable Sovereign Award winners in older mare Bear Now and sprinter Fatal Bullet, who also is considered a top contender for Horse of the Year honors.
But, Baker himself could be on the outside looking in when the three nominees for each category are announced on Friday.
Trainer Steve Klesaris was hoping for a middle-of-the-road post with Livin Lovin for Friday night's Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Princess, and he got his wish on Tuesday when she drew gate 4 in a field of 10.
The one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies will share a card with the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot. It, too, will have a full field of 10, with Terrain made the 5-2 morning-line favorite on Tuesday.
No doubt, not all talented 3-year-olds are created equal. Mambo in Seattle, a little slow to get started in 2008, had an excellent late spring and summer, almost winning the Travers Stakes in August. But last Saturday at Fair Grounds, it was late-season 3-year-old Secret Getaway who burst onto the scene, capturing the Tenacious Stakes by almost three lengths, with Mambo in Seattle third.
MIAMI - There's nothing unusual about trainer Greg Gilchrist shipping one of his stakes stars cross-country from his Northern California base for a graded stakes at Calder. Except this time, instead of bringing in another of his seemingly endless stream of speedballs, Gilchrist has arrived in south Florida with a 4-year-old turf specialist named Wild Promises who promises to be among the key contenders in Saturday's Grade 3 My Charmer Handicap.
Terrain has been dancing all around the big one, from finishing a close fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile to playing runner-up in the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland in his Grade 1 debut Oct. 4. But to strengthen his credentials heading into his 3-year-old season, he needs a breakthrough win and his opportunity comes Friday night in the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs.
"I would love to see it for a lot of different reasons," said Al Stall Jr., who trains Terrain.
A major technical snafu led to Churchill Downs canceling its online handicapping contest known as the "Biggest Vegas Qualifier Ever" in progress on Saturday.
More than 500 online players paid $250 apiece to enter the 15-race contest conducted through the Churchill-owned twinspires.com, but many were unable to make their selections in a timely fashion because of a computer-software glitch, according to Churchill officials.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Milwaukee Appeal and Parabola, a pair of promising Canadian-breds, closed out their first campaigns in fine style, suggesting the promise of better things to come in the major races for their divisions next year.
Milwaukee Appeal, a homebred who races for CEC Farm and is trained by Scott Fairlie, became a stakes winner here in Sunday's $151,200 Ontario Lassie, a 1 1/16-mile race for Ontario-foaled 2-year-old fillies.
ALBANY, Calif. - Three-year-olds Dakota Phone and Gallon dominated last Friday's Forty Niner Stakes against older horses at Golden Gate Fields and may wind up seeing each other again later this month when the Strub Series begins at Santa Anita with the Grade 1 Malibu at seven furlongs on Dec. 26.
"I'm very confident this horse will move right up the ladder if he remains sound," said Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Dakota Phone and co-owns him with Halo Farms.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ontario Derby winner Sand Cove will try to extend his unbeaten streak in stakes to four races Wednesday in the $125,000 Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile event for Ontario-sired runners.
Sand Cove has been the most improved 3-year-old at Woodbine this year. He was an ordinary Ontario-sired allowance competitor during the spring, but he began to turn the corner when he captured a second-level allowance route in July.
