NEW ORLEANS - With one more workout to go before the Grade 3 Risen Star, Blackberry Road is looking fit, and trainer David Carroll is hopeful that the added distance will help him better his Lecomte placing.
Blackberry Road finished second in the Grade 3 Lecomte on Jan. 12, beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Z Fortune. Blackberry Road will face him again, along with Pyro, who will be making his first start since finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The possibility of rain late Saturday and early Sunday has led to concern about the prospects for racing at Santa Anita on Sunday and the start of a four-day renovation project scheduled to begin Sunday after the races, according to track superintendent Richard Tedesco.
Friday, Tedesco said that a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rain may begin falling before dawn Sunday. He said he was not sure how much rain Santa Anita's synthetic main track could endure before the track would have to cancel racing.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Pure Clan and Sebastian County were on different missions when they worked this past week at Oaklawn Park. The horses are two of the top 3-year-olds on the grounds, and both are on schedule to make starts in local stakes in March.
Pure Clan was out for a three-furlong breeze Tuesday, her first work since she ran her career record to 4 for 4 in the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs on Nov. 24. She covered the distance in 38.40 seconds, working under regular exercise rider Steve Schmelzel.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed that Indian Blessing, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2007 and the winner of the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes on Jan. 13, most likely will start in the $200,000 Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 9.
Baffert said on Thursday that he plans to start Indian Blessing in the Grade 3 Silverbulletday Stakes to race her on "D-I-R-T." Indian Blessing has been training and racing on a Cushion Track synthetic surface this winter at Santa Anita.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Wood Be Willing and Kiss the Kid figure to be the two outsiders in the wagering in Saturday's Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. Wood Be Willing is trained by Hall of Famer and racing legend Allen Jerkens. Kiss the Kid will be saddled by Amy Tarrant, who six years ago decided to train her own horses after completing the even more arduous task of raising her five children.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Having experienced the thrill and agony of finishing second in the Kentucky Derby last year, jockey Mario Pino would love another opportunity to try again.
That's why Pino is excited to drive up to New York from Maryland on Saturday to ride Cave's Valley in the $100,000 Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct. It will be the second time this week that Pino has driven from Maryland to get on Cave's Valley, a Florida-bred son of Stephen Got Even. On Tuesday, he worked Cave's Valley a half-mile in 48.67 seconds over the inner track.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The field for Saturday's Grade 1 Donn Handicap is beginning to crystallize, something that cannot be said for the Grade 2 Swale Stakes that same afternoon.
Daaher, Brass Hat, and Einstein top the prospective lineup for the 1 1/8-mile Donn. Other confirmed starters include trainer Todd Pletcher's pair of A. P. Arrow and Fairbanks, Dr. Googles Boogles, Kiss the Kid, and Spring at Last. The racing office also is listing Better Than Bonds and Divine Park as possible for the race.
The scheduled four-day maintenance project on the Santa Anita main track next week could extend to a fifth day and cost the track another day of racing, track officials have told horsemen.
Santa Anita has already canceled live racing next Monday and Thursday (Tuesday and Wednesday are dark) and was scheduled to resume racing Friday, Feb. 8. But in a memo sent to trainers earlier this week, track officials said that racing was possible next Friday, but may not be conducted until Saturday.
The Bay Meadows spring meeting, originally scheduled to open Monday, has shifted its starting date to Wednesday. The track will be open for six straight days opening week, through Monday, Feb. 11.
The Golden Gate winter meeting ends Sunday. Pushing back the start of the Bay Meadows meet gives Northern California's horsemen and track employees three days between meets rather than one day.
The Bay Meadows meet ends May 11.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer James Kasparoff's opinion of Bob Black Jack may seem a little crazy after the colt ran six furlongs in a world-record time of 1:06.53 in the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Dash at Santa Anita last Saturday.
"He's not a speed freak," Kasparoff said.