ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Julio Canani has lofty goals for Attima this year. The winner of two graded stakes last summer, Attima will attempt to win her fourth stakes in Monday's $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap at Santa Anita.
Canani is hoping the Buena Vista will lead Attima to more lucrative stakes later this year, such as the $750,000 CashCall Mile at Hollywood Park in the summer.
Plaid pulled clear in the stretch to win the $50,000 Pippin Stakes by 2o1/2 lengths over Kettleoneup. It was another two lengths back in third to Angel Flying.
Plaid ($5) went into the first turn five wide as Firey Pursuit and Angel Flying moved to the early lead. Plaid tracked those two in fourth down the backside, with Fiery Pursuit setting fractions of 23.40 seconds for the opening quarter and 47.20 for the half-mile. Plaid moved closer to the leaders on the final turn, overtook them at the top of the stretch, and went on to cover the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.40 over a fast track
Recognition earned the first stakes victory of his career in the $50,000 Dust Commander Stakes at Turfway. Racing in a snowstorm, Recognition was always forwardly placed under jockey Inosencio Diego. Third after a quarter-mile, he stalked the pacesetting Holy City in second place down the backstretch, as that one set a soft half-mile fraction of 49.38 seconds in the one-mile race.
Delicate Dynamite edged out Eyes on Eddy in a thrilling stretch duel to win the $75,000 Chou Croute Stakes by three-quarters of a length.
Jockey Gerard Melancon allowed Delicate Dynamite to settle in fourth behind a leisurely pace of 24.67 for the quarter and 49.05 for the half-mile set by Kregsville, with Eyes on Eddy pressuring her under Donnie Meche.
"I was a little concerned about the pace," said Melancon, "but I knew [Eyes on Eddy] was the horse to beat."
Special Dream took advantage of a suicidal speed duel between the two favorites to record an eight-length upset in Saturday's $69,875 Dearly Precious Stakes at Aqueduct.
Aspiring, last early, rallied to get second by one length over Luxury Class. Golden Dreamer, the 1-2 favorite, finished fourth followed by Miss Blue Tye Dye and Hungarian Boatbaby, the 5-2 second choice.
Any Given Saturday passed his first test on the Kentucky Derby trail just as trainer Todd Pletcher hoped he might. He drew off to a relatively easy 2 3/4-length victory over All I Can Get in Saturday's $150,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs without emptying the tank too much for more important endeavors.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Allen Jerkens proved he's still quite the ladies man after sending out a pair of fillies, Swap Fliparoo and Any Limit, to win the $150,000 Sabin and $150,000 Hurricane Bertie handicaps, both Grade 3's, Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
NEW ORLEANS Trainer Alice Cohn has been waiting to run Livia B Quick in a second-level turf allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs, and Mondays feature race at Fair Grounds fits the bill.
Its a tough spot, though, with the field including the Louisiana-bred stakes winner Equestrian Girls, who is eligible for the race because of a provision instituted here last month that doesnt count statebred victories against open-company conditions. Equestrian Girls just got up by a half-length two weeks ago in a first-level allowance.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Horses, perhaps even more than people, are known by the company they keep. Nobody in Monday's $50,000-added Presidents' Day Handicap at Bay Meadows has been keeping better company of late than Dr. Einstein, who is the 118-pound highweight in the field of six.
In two of his previous four starts, Dr. Einstein has run second to millionaire McCann's Mojave, who just won the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic. Dr. Einstein won the other two races. He's looking for his first stakes victory.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The California Horse Racing Board's Pari-Mutuel committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Santa Anita to discuss, among other items, giving stewards the leeway to allow a horse to run for purse money only. Though it is an option for stewards in some other states, it is not part of the rules here.
Consideration for a rule change came to the fore again on Friday at Santa Anita, when a series of errors led to one horse being scratched, another being scratched temporarily, and left bettors both on and off track in a state of confusion.
