ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A pick seven carryover of $20,120 will spice up an otherwise dreary eight-race card on Wednesday evening at Woodbine.
The first leg of the pick seven is the featured second race, a nine-furlong Ontario-sired grass allowance for fillies and mares. It can probably be pared down to four contenders, including Ifbutmaybewhen.
EDMONTON, Alberta - Invaders from the West Coast continued their domination of Northlands Park stakes when Quiet Cash sped wire to wire in defeating another invader, Trick of the North, in the City of Edmonton Championship here last Saturday.
Quincy Welch piloted Quiet Cash, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred, to a neck victory in the 1 1/16-mile City of Edmonton, formerly known as the Klondike Handicap. His winning time was 1:44.30. Quiet Cash, owned by Bahadur Cheema, won his third stakes in four 2006 outings.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Three of the five winners of the Haskell Invitational from 1992-96 were based at Monmouth Park. The late Sonny Hine saddled Technology and Skip Away, the 1992 and 1996 winners, and Jimmy Croll was owner and trainer of Holy Bull, the 1994 winner.
Since then, local horses have been shut out.
Praying for Cash, Awfully Smart, and Electrify will try to change that Sunday, when their trainers - Kelly Breen, Alan Goldberg, and Eddie Plesa Jr., respectively - make their Haskell debuts.
"This is our Kentucky Derby," said Breen.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It would be an understatement to say the past week has been bittersweet for Woodbine-based trainer Danny Vella.
Last Saturday, the Vella-trained Like a Gem registered a major upset in the $252,800 Wonder Where Stakes. But just two days earlier, Knights Templar, Canada's 2-year-old filly champion under Vella's handling last season, had to be euthanized following a battle with lymphoma, a form of cancer.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A special turf training session for the Breeders' Stakes produced some unexpected excitement here at Woodbine on Sunday when Ascot Bill, ridden by Justin Stein, went against the grain by working inside the portion of the course prescribed for the morning proceedings.
The barrier cones known as "dogs" were well out on the main turf course, but Ascot Bill worked close to the rail, leading to a five-furlong clocking in 1:00.20 over the good going
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - Summerly, one of the top 3-year-old fillies in the country until her career was put on hold last summer by a splint bone injury, will launch her comeback against a strong field that includes an old rival, In the Gold, in Wednesday's $70,000 Ashado Stakes at Saratoga. The 1 1/8-mile overnight stakes is named in honor of the two-time Eclipse Award-winning filly who won two Grade 1 races at Saratoga.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Burt Bacharach years ago wrote about the way to San Jose, but his horse One Off, co-owned by his wife, Jane, has made a circuitous route to Del Mar.
left California for Florida, where he was scheduled to run in a stakes race 1 1/2 weeks ago at Calder. But the race was rained off the turf, and One Off was scratched. Last Friday, One Off arrived back at Del Mar, where on Wednesday he is scheduled to race for the first time at this track, in the $85,000 Escondido Handicap.
I really hate this wagering column.
Eleven days into the Del Mar meet, every suggested wager has lost.
The sad part is that while this column has been dreadful, the complete Del Mar analysis published in Daily Racing Form and available online has produced 33 winning selections from the first 94 races (35 percent) and a flat-bet profit.
Nevertheless, the hunt for ?value? will continue in this value-oriented column. Besides, what are the chances are of going an entire meet without cashing a ticket?
AUBURN, Wash. - Flamethrowintexan and Starbird Road emerged victorious at Emerald Downs on Sunday in a pair of important preps for the Aug. 20 running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Longacres Mile.
Flamethrowintexan led throughout 1 1-8 miles in 1:48 to win the $100,000 Mt. Rainier Breeders' Cup Handicap by 4 1-2 lengths over 46-1 shot Don'twritemeoff. Ridden by Ricky Frazier and trained by Jim Penney, Flamethrowintexan paid $3.80 to win as the heavy favorite in a field of 10 and earned $55,000 for Paul Heist?s Grasshopper Stable.
