INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Milk It Mick, the winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in 2006, has been retired after suffering a recurrence of a cannon bone injury that kept him out of action for the second half of last year, trainer Jim Cassidy said.
Milk It Mick will begin stud duty later this year in the Southern Hemisphere or next year in the Northern Hemisphere, Cassidy said. He said that conversations are ongoing with stud farms but that no plans have been finalized.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - From the launch of his American stable in 2001, Paulo Lobo has not lacked a top horse.
The first was Farda Amiga, the surprise winner of the 2002 Kentucky Oaks and the champion 3-year-old filly that season. Lobo has annually trained a showcase horse, including the stakes winners Lovely Rafaela, Pico Central, and Quero Quero.
This year, there may be two showcase horses.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Souvenier Biz, from the barn of Debbie Rombis, may be Fort Erie's new king of the quarter-milers.
Last Tuesday, Souvenier Biz overhauled speedball Bermuda Triangle to post a three-quarter-length victory in the first two-furlong race of the season. A full field of 12 competed.
The dashes are a popular item at the Fort. They are scheduled at three-week intervals, one for fillies and mares and one for the males.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Duly rejuvenated by three weeks of relative calm following the Kentucky Derby, adrenaline junkies looking for their next jolt from Churchill Downs probably are looking ahead to June 16, when the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap anchors a program of six graded stakes races.
"After the Derby, I guess it's never too early to look ahead to the Stephen Foster," said Churchill's racing secretary, Ben Huffman.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Racing on a synthetic surface has prolonged the career of the Japanese-bred Silent Name.
Now, the connections of Silent Name are hoping that the son of Sunday Silence will transfer his turf and synthetic surface form to conventional dirt when he runs in Monday's Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park.
Silent Name, trained by Gary Mandella, arrived in New York from Southern California on Friday for Monday's marquee event, which is expected to draw a superlative nine-horse field, including Lawyer Ron, Silver Wagon, Sun King, and Latent Heat.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - At the age of 9, The Tin Man will be facing some horses half his age when he makes his 2007 debut in Monday's $398,200 Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Mile at Hollywood Park.
Judging from his 2006 form, The Tin Man might have a chance to upset top contenders Kip Deville, who is seeking his fourth consecutive graded stakes win, and Chinese Dragon, the winner of the San Francisco Mile last month who will be trying to win his first Grade 1.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sunday's Connaught Cup, the first turf stakes of the Woodbine meeting, did not come up particularly strong.
And that's just fine with trainer Mark Frostad, who will send out French Beret and Shoal Water in the Grade 3, $150,000 race for 4-year-olds and up.
Both French Beret, a 4-year-old gelding, and Shoal Water, a 7-year-old gelding, are Sam-Son Farm homebreds who will be making their second starts of the season in the 1 1/16-mile Connaught Cup.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Michael Turner thinks Forceful Intention has a very good chance of upsetting Spaghetti Mouse in the John Longden Stakes at Hastings on Sunday.
Forceful Intention ran a huge race to finish second to Canadian champion True Metropolitan in the George Royal Stakes on May 5. It was his first start since he finished second as the odds-on favorite in an allowance race last November.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The Grade 3, $200,000 Dallas Turf Cup will have a Kentucky feel this year, with Churchill Downs shippers Embossed and Crested expected to start as two of the top choices in the 1 1/8-mile race. The horses flew into Dallas from Louisville, Ky., on Friday morning, along with four other runners targeting a handful of the six stakes that will make up Monday's Lone Star Million Day card at Lone Star Park.