DEL MAR, Calif. - A month would seem like enough time between starts for most top-class fillies and mares.
seems to be an exception. A 4-year-old filly, Shining Energy had nearly five weeks between a win in the Grade 1 Gamely Breeders' Cup Stakes in late May and a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 CashCall Mile on July 1.
The loss in the CashCall Mile left trainer Julio Canani angry. "She likes her races spread out," he said.
ALBANY, Calif. - Golden Gate Fields is planning to install a synthetic surface immediately after it runs the January-June meeting it is requesting for next year.
Construction of a new track from the bottom up would take a minimum of three months, said the track's general manager, Robert Hartman said.
"We would have to do the construction and also mix the surface," Hartman said. "The mixing should not be done when it is wet to get the best possible result. When it's wet when you try to mix, it doesn't work as well.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Gary Mandella continues to learn more and more about Charmvictor, which is bad news for his rivals in Saturday's $50,000-added China Basin on the Golden Gate Fields turf.
Among the things Mandella has learned is that despite his ability to work well on the dirt in the morning, Charmvictor "couldn't stand up" on the dirt in his lone main-track try.
"I don't think he'll run on the dirt again," Mandella said. "We might try one of these [artificial surfaces] once, but not at the expense of the turf."
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Miesque's Approval looks to continue a remarkable revival Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Red Bank Stakes at one mile on the turf at Monmouth Park.
A 7-year-old horse seemingly in decline when dropped into claiming races last fall, Miesque's Approval has won three stakes since Marty Wolfson took over the training from Bill Mott.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Excited Miss will try and make it four straight stakes wins when she tackles a tough field of 3-year-old fillies in the $50,000 Hong Kong Jockey Club at Hastings Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile feature is the final prep for the Grade 3 British Columbia Breeders' Cup Oaks Sept. 23, and it drew seven horses.
The Grade 3, $500,000 Kent Breeders' Cup, scheduled for Saturday at Delaware Park, was postponed a week because of the threat of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
"We're expecting possibly 10 inches of rain hitting us, so we pushed it back a week," said Delaware Park's chief operating officer, Bill Fasy.
The 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds will be run on Sept. 9 as already drawn, with the undefeated and likely favorite After Market breaking from post 11 in a field of 12 plus two also-eligibles.
If a trainer had looked forward the entire Ellis Park meet to running his turf specialist in the Tri-State Handicap, he had to be disappointed when entries came out for the $50,000 race.
Oh, the race went - it's the 10th of 11 on the Saturday card at the Henderson, Ky., track. Problem is, one of the nine entrants is named Silver Tree, which greatly diminishes the chances of any of the other eight to win.
Northern Scene has already won one stakes off a long layoff this year. Saturday, he should be favored to do it again, in the $75,000 Sport City Handicap at Louisiana Downs.
The 1 1/16-mile turf race drew eight older horses, among them Waupaca, who is co-highweighted with Northern Scene at 119 pounds, and Saturday Deelites, winner of the $55,000 Retama Breeders' Cup Turf.
