Sat, 08/19/2006 - 00:00

New surface material still en route

DEL MAR, Calif. - Hollywood Park has completed construction of the subsurface for its synthetic track that will be used for racing this fall and is awaiting arrival of the synthetic cushion material from England in the next week.

It is unclear exactly when the material will arrive in California or when the installation will be completed, allowing Hollywood Park to reopen its track for training.

According to the track's general manger, Eual Wyatt, the boat containing the synthetic material is in the Gulf of Mexico, and has yet to cross through the Panama Canal.

Sat, 08/19/2006 - 00:00

Gonzalez fillies 1-2 in Ontario Debutante

Stillistillmovin and My List, both owned by Tucci Stable and trained by Nick Gonzalez, ran one-two in Saturday's $125,800 Ontario Debutante Stakes at Woodbine.

Stillistillmovin dueled up front with favored Lottacosta through a quick opening quarter-mile of 21.71 seconds. She began to draw away from that rival at the eighth pole and coasted home to a 2 1/4-length win.

My List, a maiden, closed from seventh and last to finish two lengths clear of Lottacosta, who held third despite bobbling in deep stretch.

Sat, 08/19/2006 - 00:00

Baffert sets stakes milestone

Horsephotos
Behaving Badly, ridden by Victor Espinoza, wins the Rancho Bernardo on Friday to give trainer Bob Baffert his record 75th stakes win at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Behaving Badly gave trainer Bob Baffert a record 75th stakes win at Del Mar in Friday's Grade 3, $200,000 .

Baffert surpassed Charlie Whittingham on the track's all-time list. Baffert scored his first Del Mar stakes win with Theresa's Pleasure in 1990, a time when he divided his attention between Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.

The milestone came as a surprise to Baffert, who said he was not aware that he had been tied with Whittingham. Baffert said his success is a result of racing at Del Mar in the last 15 years.

Sat, 08/19/2006 - 00:00

Travers contenders work to beat rain

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - With rain moving into Saratoga on Saturday and forecasted to last into Sunday morning, several trainers moved workouts up a day for their Travers contenders.

Five of the seven horses expected to run in the $1 million Travers here Aug. 26 put in workouts Saturday morning at Saratoga and Churchill.

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

Perfect day for Baze

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Russell Baze won with all seven of his mounts on Friday's Bay Meadows Fair card, bringing his current win streak to nine consecutive victories.

Baze, who closed out Thursday with victories aboard Flying Incognito in the seventh race and Alley Fighter in the ninth race nightcap, won the first five races on Friday's card and captured the seventh and eighth.

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

Classic has 'tough' written all over it

Peb

DEL MAR, Calif. - All that Lava Man does is beat West Coast cream puffs. Perfect Drift has not won a race in a year. And poor Giacomo - did he really win the Kentucky Derby?

Go ahead and poke fun. Easy fodder. But when those three cut loose over 1 1/4 miles Sunday in the $1 million at Del Mar - eight entered the deepest race of the year in California - the winner commands respect. It may be the only thing Lava Man lacks.

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

Declan's Moon reloads for O'Brien

DEL MAR, Calif. - The only time Declan's Moon lost a race, it was trainer Art Sherman who was standing in the winner's circle, with Desert Boom. Declan's Moon on Sunday at Del Mar promises to be better, stronger, and faster for the Grade 2, $300,000 Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup Handicap than he was in his comeback race on July 16 at Hollywood Park, but Sherman will be out to knock him off again, this time with Siren Lure, who has won 5 of his last 6 starts, most recently the Grade 1 Triple Bend Handicap at Hollywood Park.

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

Long comeback trail for juvenile champ

Horsephotos
With one start under his belt after injuries kept him from racing for more than a year, Declan's Moon, the Eclipse-winning juvenile male of 2004, is back for a stakes in Sunday's Pat O'Brien.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Since March 2005, when Declan's Moon went to the sidelines with an injury, owner Samantha Siegel has watched with envy as some of the horses that he beat went on to greater things.

Giacomo, second to Declan's Moon in the 2004 Hollywood Futurity, won the 2005 Kentucky Derby in an upset. Siegel could only wonder what Declan's Moon could have accomplished if he had stayed healthy.

"It's terrible to watch all the horses you beat win all these major races," Siegel recalled earlier this week. "It hurt."

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

'Maxxi' gunning it from outside

DEL MAR, Calif. - Everything looks good for Maxxi Arte's stakes debut in Sunday's $85,000 Viejas Casino Handicap at Del Mar. Everything except the post position.

Maxxi Arte has drawn the outside in the one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies, which is one of trainer Jim Cassidy's few concerns about his filly's chances in the race.

"I don't like the post," he said. "I don't want to be carried five wide in the first turn."

Fri, 08/18/2006 - 00:00

Badge of Silver's goals set high

Horsephotos
Badge of Silver will run in Saturday's Bernard Baruch , part of an ambitious schedule being set for him.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The quest to make Badge of Silver a Grade 1 winner will continue.

Badge of Silver, a talented but fragile 6-year-old son of Silver Deputy, is a graded stakes winner on dirt and turf. The only thing missing from his resume is a Grade 1 victory, which would make him even more of an attractive stallion prospect for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who own and bred Badge of Silver.