ELMONT, N.Y. - Bolshoi Ballet and Santa Barbara, the two Coolmore-owned horses that won Saturday’s Belmont Derby and Oaks, respectively, emerged from their efforts “like they never had races,” according to assistant trainer T.J. Comerford. While they shipped back to trainer Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle yard in Ireland on Sunday night, it is likely they will return to the U.S. at some point, with the year-end goals being the Breeders’ Cup.

Mean Mary, one of the leading older female turf-route horses, won’t run in the United Nations Stakes next Saturday. Trainer Graham Motion said several weeks ago he would consider the mare for the U.N., and she was nominated to the race, but Motion on Friday said her connections would take a pass and instead aim for the Glens Falls, a 1 1/2-mile turf stakes on Aug. 7 at Saratoga, or point for the Beverly D. at 1 3/16 miles the next Saturday at Arlington.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Art Collector, the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes and Ellis Park Derby winner for trainer Tom Drury, is now in the barn of Bill Mott and is targeting the $120,000 Alydar Stakes on Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

On Thursday, Art Collector worked a half-mile in 49.66 seconds over a Saratoga training track labeled wet fast.

“He was well on the bridle, he traveled well,” Mott said. “We just wanted to get him started and see.”

Hot Rod Charlie had a different rider and a different description to a five-furlong workout on Friday at Santa Anita in advance of a scheduled start in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Wesley Ward enjoyed a fabulous Belmont Park spring/summer meeting and appears in good shape to get his Saratoga meet off to a strong start.

Ward looks to be well represented in both opening-day stakes Thursday at the Spa, as he will run Happy Soul in the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, and Golden Pal in the $120,000 Quick Call Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

Trainer Chad Brown has won the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes three times and will have three chances to get his fourth win July 17 in the 1 3/8-mile turf fixture.

Brown on Friday said he expects to enter Tribhuvan, Master Piece, and Serve the King in the U.N. Serve the King is based at Monmouth and finished fourth in the June 5 Monmouth Stakes, his first race after a long layoff. Master Piece and Tribhuvan will ship from New York. Both last started in the Manhattan, Master Piece finishing sixth, Tribhuvan second.

The field for the $1 million Haskell Invitational is holding steady, with a second Todd Pletcher-trained runner now in the mix and a decision on the participation of California-based Rombauer pending following a Friday workout.

Los Alamitos is eliminating racing on Fridays effective July 16 during its ongoing Quarter Horse and lower-level Thoroughbred meeting due to a shortage of available horses, track owner Ed Allred said Thursday.

The track will race on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Allred said. “It’s difficult to conduct an everyday program.

“The horse population is kind of skewered. We have very few older, cheap Quarter Horses. We have plenty of 2-year-olds. By the time they are 3, they are upper-level allowance horses or better.”

Age 11 is not too late for a racehorse’s renaissance.

From 2017 through 2020, Mongol Bull managed only two wins. Thursday at Arlington, the 11-year-old gelding won his third race in a row, easily beating a bunch of $5,000 claimers. Mongol Bull began his streak in a $10,000 claimer at Hawthorne this past spring and then won a $5,000 claimer at the Arlington meet before repeating on Thursday.

Visually and on Beyer Speed Figures, Army Wife is getting better and better as her 3-year-old season unfolds. A distant third in the April 3 Gazelle, where she got an 82 Beyer, Army Wife went on to win the May 13 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico with an 86 Beyer before dominating the Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows on July 2.

Army Wife stalked the pace, always traveling comfortably under Joel Rosario, and easily drew away to score by 3 3/4 lengths, notching a career-best 90 Beyer in the 1 1/16-mile contest.