VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Undersecretary hasn't developed as quickly as his more illustrious siblings Regal Red and Commodore Craig. Nonetheless, he appears to have a plenty of potential and he looks like the one to beat in the eighth race at Hastings Saturday. The $75,000 optional claiming race for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles drew seven horses, including the B.C. Cup Stellar's Jay winner He's Quite a Guy.
Trainer Robbie Anderson was disappointed when Under-
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Trainer Debbie Rombis has had little to cheer about this year at Fort Erie.
Usually a fast starter, Rombis was slow out of the gate this spring. Then, on June 3, she was severely injured when a horse reared and toppled onto her as she was exiting the sand ring.
Rombis suffered a fractured tailbone and her pelvis was broken in three places. She was hospitalized for two months.
Last year, Rombis had 11 winners and finished in the top 20 in the meet trainer standings. Going into Tuesday's card, she had only two winners for all of 2006.
Wild Rex, a winner of one sprint turf stakes and narrowly beaten in another during Monmouth Park's season, figures to be a short-priced favorite in the $55,000 Great Falls Stakes at the Meadowlands.
The five-furlong grass stakes, restricted to 3-year-olds, drew a field of eight, plus Big Dealer, who is entered for the main track only.
Kong the King has run only once in his career, so it's way too early to label the 2-year-old son of Storm Boot as a candidate for next spring's Triple Crown series. But if he runs a big race in Saturday's $100,000 Dover Stakes at Delaware Park, Kong the King might be worth following.
Between 1950 and 1978, four horses who ran first or second in the Dover went on to capture the Kentucky Derby the following May. More recently, Captain Bodgit won the 1996 Dover and finished second in the 1997 Derby.
MIAMI - Universal Form pulled off one of the most improbable stakes victories of 2006, when he rallied from last at odds of 53-1 to beat War Front by a length in Gulfstream Park's Grade 3 Deputy Minister Handicap.
War Front has since gone on to win a Grade 2 stakes and finish second in a pair of Grade 1 races, and is preparing for the upcoming Breeders' Cup Sprint. Universal Form, on the other hand, has gone winless in six tries since the Deputy Minister and will try again to get back on the right track in Saturday's $45,000 Go to Will overnight stakes at Calder.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Last year, the Iroquois Handicap drew a field of 12, but Seeking the Ante turned it into a one-horse affair. This year, a field of 14 was entered for Saturday's $125,000 Iroquois and literally anyone can win it.
The Iroquois is run at seven furlongs, and the 14 horses have combined to win just 5 of 26 starts at that distance. This field of New York-bred fillies and mares is made up of horses who seem to do better at six furlongs or one mile.
True Metropolitan wrapped up local divisional honors with a convincing win over Spaghetti Mouse in the Grade 3 B.C. Premiers on Sunday. His trainer, Terry Jordan, had planned to turn True Metropolitan out after the Premiers, but after considering how easily True Metropolitan won and how well he came out of it, Jordan and owner Bob Cheema may send True Metropolitan to Woodbine to run in the Grade 3, $150,000 Woodbine Slots Cup on Nov. 18. If True Metropolitan ships to Woodbine, Jordan will keep him there for the 1 3/4-mile Valedictory on Dec. 10.
Trainer Roger Attfield will be holding a strong hand with Boldly Seductive and Dancer's Fan when he goes for his 300th career stakes victory Saturday at Woodbine in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes. For Canadian-bred 2-year-old fillies, the Princess Elizabeth is run at 1 1/16 miles.
Boldly Seductive was a tired fourth when she made her debut Sept. 16, but she graduated in a romp Oct. 5, leading throughout in a seven-furlong maiden special to score by 5 3/4 lengths. She earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.
Spruce Limerick has some nice turf influences in her pedigree, and when the opportunity arose to get her on the grass last month, her connections jumped at the chance. The result was a career performance that stamps Spruce Limerick as the one to beat Saturday in the $50,000 Lady Luck, which is the closing-day feature at Louisiana Downs.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Retribution will again be the one to catch in the $150,000 Mohawk Handicap for New York breds on the turf at Belmont Park on Saturday.
The 4-year-old gelding, trained by John Hertler, has already demonstrated what can happen if he is left all alone. Retribution built an insurmountable lead in Belmont's Ashley T. Cole Handicap on Sept. 17 and held on for the upset at 25-1.
"I certainly didn't expect that," Hertler said. "He's fast and he doesn't want to be held back. He was able to get a breather, and I think that was critical for his finish."