DUBAI, United Arab Emirates The 2006 Epsom Derby winner races Saturday in the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic, a victim of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately.
Sir Percy went unbeaten in four starts in 2005, winning the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and earning championship honors as Englands best 2-year-old. Second to George Washington in the English 2000 Guineas, his first start at 3, he returned a month later to give trainer Marcus Tregoning his first Epsom Derby win and then fell off the map.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Kyle Kaenel, fourth in the Bay Meadows jockey standings, was taken to a local hospital for precautionary X-rays following a two-horse spill in Wednesday's fifth race.
Kaenel's mount J.R. Ringo broke down in the stretch of the $32,000 maiden claiming race for 3-year-olds at one mile on the turf. Grampa Joe was unable to avoid J.R. Ringo and also fell, although his rider Luis Martinez was only bruised in the fall. Kaenel, complained of a headache and suffered an abrasion at the back of his head and was taken for X-rays of his lower back and hip.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Half Ours, undefeated in five starts, including a win in the Grade 2 Richter Scale Breeders' Cup Handicap at Gulfstream Park, will miss the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 7 due to an eye infection, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
According to Pletcher, Half Ours underwent a minor surgical procedure on his left eye last week, forcing him to miss a key workout. Pletcher said the problem actually first cropped up last November, but that it was manageable with nonsurgical treatments until recently.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The Oak Tree Racing Association submitted a proposal on Wednesday to host the 2008 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, according to Oak Tree executive vice-president Sherwood Chillingworth.
Chillingworth said he hopes to learn whether the bid is successful by mid-April, after a meeting of the Breeders' Cup board of directors.
If successful, it would mark the fourth time that Oak Tree will host the Breeders' Cup, having done so in 1986, 1993, and 2003.
By MARCUS HERSH
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - There are only seven horses, and they have 1 1/4 miles on the Nad Al Sheba track to sort themselves out, but Wednesday's post position draw for Saturday's $6 million Dubai World Cup still offered at least a dollop of intrigue, with the two favorites, Discreet Cat and Invasor, bookending the field after posts were assigned.
The unbeaten Discreet Cat and jockey Frankie Dettori break from post 1, while Invasor and Fernando Jara are in post 7, and the draw may give Invasor a greater margin of error.
Leading rider Ken Tohill continued his sizzling pace last Sunday by riding six winners from seven mounts at Sunland Park.
Tohill won with Show Host ($3.20) in the fifth race, Super Danny ($6.40) in seventh, Ms Zenna's Royal ($3.40) in the eighth, Corwyn Newyork ($13.60) in the ninth, Hailey's Gone West ($4) in the 11th, and Racin Grayson ($3.20) in the 12th.
Tohill's six-win day was the best for a jockey this meet. He remains the runaway leader in the jockey standings and is well on his way to a fourth consecutive riding title.
Officially, there weren't any promotions scheduled for Tuesday at Philadelphia Park. It turned out to be Ladies Day, however, resulting in some huge payoffs to a few lucky bettors.
Female trainers swept the first six races on the 10-race program. That's remarkable enough. The feat is even more amazing considering that Jayne Vaders, the runaway leader in the track's trainer standings, didn't saddle any of the winners.
Lone Star Park will hold a memorial service next month for trainer Beach Opperman, who died in Metairie, La., on Jan. 21. He was 49.
Opperman moved his stable to Lone Star from Florida a number of years ago and settled in Keller, Tex., which is about 20 miles from Lone Star. Most recently he worked for Thoroughbred Transport in Shreveport, La.
Jockey Tracy Hebert, who leads the Delta Downs standings by more than 60 wins and earlier this month set a season record for mount earnings at the track, can pad his record Saturday night when he rides starters in each of the four rich stakes that make up the closing night card.
Entries for the stakes, worth a cumulative $400,000, were taken on Wednesday.