ELMONT, N.Y. - As summer turns to fall, thoughts of many in horse racing turn to the Breeders' Cup. With this year's Breeders' Cup being contested over a synthetic surface at Santa Anita, horsemen have plenty to think about.
Many New York horsemen will be grappling with whether to prep their potential Breeders' Cup horses over a synthetic surface - such as Santa Anita's, Keeneland's, or Turfway Park's - or stick close to home and run over the dirt course at Belmont Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Kiaran McLaughlin on Wednesday morning was still reveling in the joy of winning the Saratoga trainers' title, his first title of any kind on the New York Racing Association circuit.
McLaughlin won the title with 17 winners, two more than his friend and colleague Todd Pletcher, a six-time leading trainer at Saratoga.
"Great meet," McLaughlin said. "Going in, I felt like we could have a good meet, but it usually takes a few more wins than I had to win it. Another 10 days and Kimmel might have passed us."
OKLAHOMA CITY - Greeley's Conquest has returned to his Remington Park base after a big run at Saratoga Race Course last week in the Grade 1 Forego. He finished second in a multi-horse photo at odds of 38-1.
"I was really proud of him," said Gary Thomas, who trains Greeley's Conquest for Millard Seldin Revocable Trust.
ARCADIA, Calif. - At 8 a.m. Wednesday, trainer Clifford Sise gave Santa Anita's newly refurbished synthetic track the best endorsement he could offer. Sise worked the top horse in his stable, Idiot Proof, a leading candidate for the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
Working alone, Idiot Proof went five furlongs in 1:00.60 on a Pro-Ride surface that opened only last Saturday. Sise said he was impressed by the track.
"It's in good shape," Sise said. "He looked like he got over it. It's got some cushion. I think everyone will be happy with the track."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario Ventura, who will be a solid second choice in Sundays Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, had her final tune-up at Saratoga on Wednesday, working four furlongs in 48.11 seconds.
She worked fine, said trainer Bobby Frankel, adding that Ventura was scheduled to leave for Woodbine on Wednesday evening in company with Champs Elysees, who will run here in Sundays Grade 1 Northern Dancer.
Garrett Gomez has the call on both Frankel runners.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. was forced to miss his scheduled mount Wednesday on Believe in Hope, the third choice on the morning line in the Grade 1, $250,000 Del Mar Futurity, after suffering a minor fracture in a toe, according to his agent, Jim Pegram.
"The doctor told him he could do more damage if he rode on it today," Pegram said Wednesday morning. "It should heal in two to three weeks. So, we'll shoot for the first part of Oak Tree."
The Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita begins on Sept. 24.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Having demonstrated the ability to relax successfully in two Grade 1 sprint victories this summer, Indian Blessing will stretch out in distance Saturday when she heads a field of nine entered in the Grade 1, $300,000 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park.
The Ruffian, for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles, heads a 10-race card that also includes the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mark Frostad is expected to be the only trainer with entrants in each of the three lucrative turf stakes here Sunday, with a total of four runners in the three races, all for for Sam-Son Farm.
But Frostad knows that his runners will have their work cut out for them - Mulmur in the Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile, French Beret in the Grade 1, $750,000 Northern Dancer, and Quiet Jungle and Stroke the Tiger in the Grade 2, $300,000 Canadian.
MIAMI - Trainer Marty Wolfson is still trying to get over the disappointment of Golden Spikes's performance in the King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga on Travers Day, Aug. 23.
Golden Spikes stopped badly after surprisingly getting involved in a suicidal speed, which compromised the chances of all four horses battling for the lead in the Grade 1 King's Bishop. The early tussle set up the last-to-first victory of runaway winner Visionaire.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Woodbine made a significant change in its stakes schedule this year when it moved the Northern Dancer onto the same card as the Woodbine Mile.
Whether that shuffle will pay off will be known Sunday after Woodbine concludes a blockbuster program that also includes the Canadian Stakes.
The first two runnings of the $750,000 Northern Dancer, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward, had been held in the third week of July.
