MIAMI - Trainer Jose Pinchin on Friday confirmed that his once-beaten 2-year-old star Big City Man had been sold privately, and that he was to be scratched out of Saturday's $150,000 Affirmed Stakes, middle leg of the open division of the Florida Stallion Stakes series.
Pinchin would not reveal any details of the sale, either the price or who purchased Big City Man from his former owner, the Mr. T. Stables of Tony Shalom.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Dancing Allstar will be the star of the show when she returns to Hastings next Saturday to run in the fillies division of the $60,000 CTHS Sales Stakes.
Dancing Allstar was bought out of last year's Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society sale by Bob Cheema for $15,500 and she's already earned $135,984.
Talking Treasure gets a chance to make up for her second-place finish at 3-5 odds in her only Finger Lakes appearance when she returns to the Farmington, N.Y., track for the $75,000 New York Oaks on Sunday. Talking Treasure looks like the lone speed in the 1 1/16-mile Oaks, which is for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies.
The combination of a $1 million purse and the absence of any of the leaders of the 3-year-old division resulted in a field of 11 when post positions were drawn Friday for Monday's 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.
DEL MAR, Calif. - A double carryover of $654,880 adds considerable intrigue to Fridays eight-race program at Del Mar. The pick six covers the third through eighth races on a program that begins at 3:30 p.m. Pacific.
There were early changes in four of the six races for Friday.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The annual fair held on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds where Hastings is located is almost over, and local racing fans will be glad to see it go. Parking, more than doubled in price to $15 and becomes difficult to find, and race fans have to weave their way through large groups gathered around salespeople pitching devices that make it a lot easier to slice and dice vegetables. Also, everyone watching their weight has a hard time because it's just about impossible to walk past the mini-donut stand.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - First, Chatain showed disdain for Polytrack. Then, he burned both hind ankles in a fast workout trying to make it to the Metropolitan Handicap. Now, Chatain, who is entered in Saturday's Grade 1 Forego Stakes, has a bruised left front foot.
It's enough to make a grown trainer cry.
"On Tuesday afternoon I was looking for a bridge," trainer Angel Penna Jr. said Thursday morning.
Penna said Chatain was found to have a bruised foot Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after he worked four furlongs in 48.02 seconds over Saratoga's main track.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As a jockey, Roger Horgan said he never had any luck in the New York Turf Writers Cup, Saratoga's premier steeplechase event. As a trainer, Horgan's fortunes improved dramatically.
On Thursday, Horgan sent out the 7-year-old mare Footlights to an 11 1/2-length victory in the $160,800 New York Turf Writers Cup. Underbidder, the longest shot on the board at 28-1, got up for second by a neck over The Looper. Mixed Up, the 6-5 favorite who had to tote high weight of 162 pounds, finished a well-beaten fifth.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Catherine Day Phillips has had plenty of stakes success on the road this season with her very talented turf performer Jambalaya.
But Day Phillips is still looking for her first 2007 stakes score on the home front and will be looking to rectify that situation when she sends out Red Raffles in Sunday's Vice Regent here at Woodbine.
Red Raffles, winner of 3 of 7 starts this year, will be looking for his first turf win in the one-mile Vice Regent, a $125,000 race for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds