VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The type of pace Crystal Gala sets in the seventh race at Hastings Friday will go a long way in determining which of the seven fillies and mares will cross the finish line first.
If they let Crystal Gala get away on her own, there's a very good chance she'll carry her speed the whole way. On the other hand, if she's under pressure from the start then the $8,000 claimer at 1 1/16 miles becomes a wide-open contest.
AUBURN, Wash. - A full field of 12 is in prospect for Sunday's 71st running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Longacres Mile, though it is not yet certain which 12 they will be.
The uncertainty is caused by the status of Papi Chullo, who could run either in Sunday's Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar or the Mile. If he does contest the Mile, Papi Chullo, who ran third in last month's Grade 2 San Diego Handicap, will reside in the barn of trainer Frank Lucarelli and will be ridden by either Robbie Albarado or Kevin Radke at 115 pounds.
MIAMI - A three day per week live racing schedule during the height of the summer might not work for every racetrack. But the early returns on that schedule, implemented at Calder for the first time this year, seem to be favorable - and that likely means the schedule will become an annual occurrence.
The $600,000 WinStar Derby will be run March 18, 2007, about two weeks earlier than it was this year, and be part of a $500,000 bonus series. The WinStar Derby is the richest race of the Sunland Park meet, which opens Dec. 15 for 79 days of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The meet runs through April 29.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Five 3-year-olds get a chance to display their progress in a $40,000 starter allowance at six furlongs Friday at the Bay Meadows Fair.
Dons Champion seems the one who sets the bar. A 3-year-old gelding trained by Bill Morey Jr., he ran third in his debut in a $40,000 maiden claimer in November, then beat a straight maiden field Dec. 19 in his second start.
He didn't race again until July 30, when he finished third in a starter allowance race at Santa Rosa. He has recorded a bullet work since then.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Tap Day will be a well-rested horse going into the Grade 3, $250,000 Philip Iselin Breeders' Cup Stakes Saturday at Monmouth Park.
Tap Day made his first start of the year in March and ran eighth in the Budweiser Challenge at Tampa Bay Downs. He had more than two months off before he ran again, winning an allowance race at Belmont Park. Tap Day then got a seven-week break before Belmont's Grade 1 Suburban Handicap on July 1, when he finished a distant fifth behind Invasor.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Racing on Woodbine's new synthetic Polytrack racing surface, which remains under construction, is now scheduled to begin on Aug. 30.
Woodbine's original goal, announced this spring, was to have the new surface ready for racing by the end of August, but that had been pushed up to Aug. 23, as reflected by the most recent condition book.
"When we established that date, we were actually running ahead of schedule," said Jim Ormiston, Woodbine's executive vice president and chief operating officer, on Wednesday. "Now, we're back on schedule.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The Grade 3, $250,000 British Columbia Derby on Aug. 24 is just over a month away, and the connections of some of the top local 3-year-olds are trying to figure out the best way to get their horses to the derby in peak condition.
Trainer Harold Barroby has two derby hopefuls in Mighty Cahill and Seven Secrets, and the veteran trainer has mapped out two different itineraries for them.
Mighty Cahill is heading to Alberta to run in the $300,000 Canadian Derby Aug. 26.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sir Blitz finally got a chance to run on his preferred surface for the first time this year after his first three scheduled turf starts were washed over to the dirt here at Woodbine.
The bad news was that grass opportunity came in a tough spot, the 6 1/2-furlong prep for the Play the King on Aug. 5, and Sir Blitz was beaten 4 3/4 lengths while ending sixth in a field of 11.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Sure bets at a racetrack are difficult to find, but Wild to Go finishing second appears to be a lock. Wild to Go, trained by Martin Drexler, has finished in the runner-up spot in all six of starts here at Assiniboia Downs this year.
On Friday, Wild to Go will face four rivals as he makes his seventh consecutive first-level allowance start.
Special Breeze and Second Story Boy bring in streaks of their own.
