GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Gyrovagi, a half-brother to multiple Grade 3 winner Bedanken, has come to hand over the second half of the Lone Star Park meet. He won his third straight race here on Thursday night, defeating a nice group of sprinters in an optional claiming race. Gyrovagi stalked the pace, then took command for a 1 3/4-length win under regular rider Quincy Hamilton.
"He put himself in good position and went on when he needed to," said his trainer, Donnie Von Hemel. "It was a good race."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainers Neil Drysdale and Michael Dickinson are no strangers to success with Woodbine ship-ins over the past decade.
And, with locally based Sky Conqueror and Jambalaya commanding most of the attention, the Drysdale and Dickinson invaders are coming in under the radar for Sunday's Grade 2, $700,000 Northern Dancer over 1 1/2 miles on turf.
Drysdale, whose Woodbine portfolio includes victories in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile with Becrux in 2006, Touch of the Blues in 2003, and Labeeb in 1998, will be represented by Obrigado in the Northern Dancer.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Ready's Image and The Roundhouse, two of trainer Todd Pletcher's early juvenile stars, completed preparations for next Thursday's Grade 2, $150,000 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga by putting in solid workouts Friday at Belmont Park.
Ready's Image, the 7 3/4-length winner of the Tremont Stakes, went four furlongs in 47.11 seconds, the fastest of 31 half-mile drills over the Belmont training track. The Roundhouse, an eye-catching last-to-first debut winner at Monmouth last month, went five furlongs in 1:02.14.
DEL MAR, Calif. - As of Sunday, jockey Joe Talamo is no longer a rookie.
The 17-year-old riding sensation lost his five-pound apprentice claim Saturday and will ride as a journeyman for the first time at Del Mar on Sunday.
Of course, Talamo is still the young man who won the riding title at Fair Grounds last winter, nearly won the riding title at the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting this year, and scored two Grade 1 victories on the same program earlier this month. He is just no longer an apprentice.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - B.C. Cup Day, on Aug. 6, is fast approaching and with it comes fond memories for trainer Cindy Krasner. As well as looking back, Krasner is looking forward to running Bad Sneakers in the $50,000 B.C. Cup Stellar's Jay for 3-year-olds.
What brings a big smile to Krasner's face is remembering the exploits of Artic Son, a horse she trained that won the B.C. Cup Classic three years in a row beginning in 1997. Artic Son also holds the track record for 1 1/8 miles at Hastings, which he set in the 1998 Classic.
Silent Pleasure, Super Frolic, and Costa Rising, three of the region's top older horses, are all under consideration for next month's $200,000 Evangeline Mile Handicap, according to the horses' connections. The one-mile race will be run Aug. 11.
Silent Pleasure, trained by Howard Scarberry, won the $125,000 Tiznow Breeders' Cup at Louisiana Downs last weekend. Super Frolic was the runner-up in the Tiznow.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - At the beginning of the Arlington season, trainer Todd Pletcher, speaking about running a string in Chicago for the first time, said his stabling at Arlington meant he'd be a regular participant in stakes races here
this summer. And Pletcher was not merely blowing smoke.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Larry Jones conducted a reconnaissance mission at Monmouth Park from July 6-8.
The Delaware Park-based trainer brought five horses to Monmouth to test the main track and the new cushion that was installed before the start of the meet. Jones came away convinced that Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun will have no problem with the speed-favoring surface in the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 5.
DEL MAR, Calif. A 72-year-old bingo player from San Diego scored the biggest jackpot of his life Thursday when he slipped away from bingo just long enough to play a Del Mar pick six that returned $110,111.40 for one winning ticket.
Raymond Byers placed his wager at Viejas Casino, where he is a regular in the bingo parlor. The unusual structure of his winning ticket - a $16 play that started with four singles - piqued the interest of Del Mar officials. After reviewing procedures Friday, track officials expressed confidence in the integrity of the parimutuel system.
Interest in the ninth annual Claiming Crown is building with each passing day, especially with horsemen in Kentucky, according to officials affiliated with the series.
The Claiming Crown will be run Aug. 4 at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., marking the first time the $600,000, seven-race series has been held in Kentucky and just the second time it has been run anywhere other than Canterbury Park in Minnesota. The 2002 running was held at Philadelphia Park.