SAN MATEO, Calif. - There's seldom a good reason for a horse to be sidelined 16 months, and there's always a big question to be answered when that horse comes back.
Thoughtuknew makes his return off a 16-month layoff on Friday when he meets five rivals in a five-furlong turf allowance with a $62,500 optional claiming tag at the Bay Meadows Fair. Five of the six runners are coming off a victory.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - With Malakoff on the sidelines, his stablemate Royal Challenger picked up the baton and carried it to victory for Stronach Stable and trainer Brian Lynch in last Sunday's $500,000 Breeders' Stakes here at Woodbine.
The Breeders', a 1 1/2-mile turf race that was the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, was Royal Challenger's first stakes win and the biggest win to date for Lynch, who took over as Stronach Stable's main man here this spring after running the show for absentee trainer of record Bobby Frankel last year.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Eight will go to post in a wide-open second-level allowance with an optional claiming price of $16,000 when racing resumes here at Assiniboia Downs on Friday.
Adversary rides a two-race win streak, with both victories coming at this level and at Friday's six-furlong distance.
Lebite won at this class in his first start of the year, and won over $10,000 claimers last out.
Arthurlooksgood has been in the top three at this level in all four of his starts this year, although he hasn't won.
Horsemen who spend time at Retama Park near San Antonio rave about the cool evening breezes that accompany the night racing. This year, there will be a few more nights to enjoy. Retama has added eight dates to its racing calendar for the meet that opens on Friday night. In all, the track will race 51 nights, through Nov. 4.
The expanded calendar enables Retama to benefit from the comfortable fall weather in the area, as well as race on Breeders' Cup Day. The longer meet is also appealing to horsemen, said Bob Pollock, the track's general manager.
Turf and Texas-bred racing are staples of the Retama Park meet, and that suits Danny Pish, who is seeking his eighth consecutive training title at the track. Pish is well-stocked in both categories, and two of his top horses, Goosey Moose and Truth by Ruth, could see stakes action on turf over the next two weekends at Retama.
Pish has 56 horses on the grounds, and is developing others at his training center.
"In training in total right now, I've got just a little over 80 head," he said. "I'd say probably 75 percent of my barn is Texas-bred horses."
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Trainer Ralph Irwin is sporting a powerful one-two punch in the region's stakes ranks these days with half-siblings Tortuga Flats and Tortuga Straits.
Older sister Tortuga Flats, a 3-year-old filly by Wild Zone, was a three-time stakes winner in dirt sprints before trying the grass for the first time in last month's Elge Rasberry Stakes for Louisiana-breds. That race was loaded with talent, including four other stakes winners and plenty who, like Tortuga Flats, had previously shown a high turn of early foot.
The field for this meeting's showcase event in the handicap division, Saturday night's $150,000 Evangeline Mile, attracted a field of eight when it was drawn Wednesday afternoon. The starting highweight at 121 pounds is High Strike Zone, recent winner of the $75,000 Ark-La-Tex Handicap at Louisiana Downs.
Also in the field is Stockholder, who won the recent $100,000 Omaha Stakes at Horsemen's Park and finished a close second in the Grade 3 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park on April 29. He is the second highweight at 119.
After a thrilling stretch run, Bevys Dazzler continued his winning streak Saturday night at Columbus with a gutty head victory over Track Hero in the Hall of Fame Stakes.
Track Hero took the lead from Bevys Dazzler entering the far turn and was about a length clear passing the furlong marker. But Bevys Dazzler dug back in and wore his rival down through the closing yards to post a head victory.
Rafael Hernandez and Danush Sukie, the two leading riders at Fairmount Park, both scored riding triples on last Friday night's card. Hernandez's wins were consecutive, and included the featured third-level allowance won by Favorite Fun. Claimed for $15,000 at Churchill Downs on June 14, Favorite Fun has since won twice in allowance company at Fairmount for trainer Tom Trione Jr. Favorite Fun's winning Beyer last Friday was 79, the highest earned during the week at Fairmount.
