HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - High Heels, the third-place finisher in last year's Kentucky Oaks who was to make her season debut Saturday in the $50,000 Pippin at Oaklawn Park, has been retired, trainer Gary Hartlage said Wednesday. She was found to have a bone chip in her right knee after being X-rayed on Wednesday.
"We were hoping this was going to be a big year," said Hartlage. "It wasn't meant to be."
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The list of top Derby contenders doesn't currently include Turf War, whose biggest accomplishment to date is a dead-heat win in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Jackpot. But behind the scenes, the promising 3-year-old is collecting the support of some respected horsemen as he nears his season debut Monday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Even the ever-confident Richard Dutrow Jr. is tempering his enthusiasm as his 5-year-old mare Oprah Winney attempts to score a repeat victory in Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at Laurel Park.
Oprah Winney went gate to wire to win this race last year by three-quarters of a length, but Dutrow believes this year's 10-horse field - headed by the Michael Trombetta-trained Control System - trumps the field Oprah Winney beat last year.
Three-time Sunland riding champ Joe Martinez took the old saying "Thank God. It's Friday" to heart last week, winning five races on the 11-race program.
Martinez got his day off to a fine start with Cm Now in the day's fourth race ($4.60). He followed that up by winning on Eye Opened Expert ($7) in race 5, This Snow Is Blazin ($12) in race 6, Trojan's Gold ($5) in race 7, and Seminar ($6.20) in race 9.
Owners James and Marilyn Helzer are big names in the Quarter Horse world. They have stallion stations in three states and owned one of the most famous Quarter Horses of all time, 1992-93 world champion Refrigerator. Their latest Thoroughbred stakes horse, Euroears, could pass for a Quarter Horse. Euroears possesses a flashy chestnut coat and has hindquarters the size of small automobiles. And so far, nobody can beat him.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Greg's Gold won 4 of 10 starts and $566,995 in 2007, a campaign that left trainer David Hofmans somewhat unsatisfied.
Greg's Gold lost the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Handicap by a nose and the Grade 1 Ancient Title Stakes by three-quarters of a length in a troubled trip.
"He should have won both of those," Hofmans said.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A year ago, trainer Helen Pitts thought she had a top Kentucky Derby prospect on her hands after sending out Curlin to a near 13-length victory in his career debut. But within days those dreams were gone after Curlin was sold privately and transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen's barn at Fair Grounds.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The field for the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Monday will be made up primarily of shippers, and few have come farther for the race than Sierra Sunset. He has flown in from his base at Golden Gate Fields in California for the one-mile race.
Others shipping in for the first leg of Oaklawn's series for 3-year-olds include Turf War, who arrived Saturday morning by van from Ocala, Fla.
With his trip to Dubai set to begin Friday, and his 2008 comeback race on Feb. 28 at Nad Al Sheba scheduled for a demanding 1 1/4 miles, Curlin needed to do more than fool around in a Tuesday workout at Fair Grounds.
So, how did Curlin do? Well, to use one of trainer Steve Asmussen's regular lines, "He worked like Curlin."