Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Philadelphia: Streak on the line

Trickle of Gold will go after her fourth straight win as the strong favorite in a field of nine filly and mare sprinters in the $100,000 My Juliet Stakes at Philadelphia Park.

Jeremy Rose will handle Trickle of Gold for trainer Mike Gorham in the six-furlong My Juliet. A speedy daughter of Formal Gold, Trickle of Gold shoots for her 11th win from 19 career starts. She won 6 of 8 last year as a 3-year-old, including the Grade 3 Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel, and most recently romped to a 9 3/4-length tally at Pimlico in the Skipat Stakes.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Charles Town: Ah Day vs. King Kohl

Ah Day, winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico and fifth to High Cotton in the Sir Barton on Preakness Day, meets West Virginia Futurity winner King Kohl in the $50,000 Red Legend Stakes for 3-year-olds at Charles Town.

Ah Day, trained by King Leatherbury, has won 3 of 7 outings this season, taking the Horatius at six furlongs, an optional claimer at seven furlongs at Laurel, and the Tesio by an impressive 5 1/2 lengths. In the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton, Ah Day held a striking position to the stretch but weakened behind wire-to-wire winner High Cotton.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Potra Clasica in safe spot

MIAMI - Trainer Marty Wolfson had contemplated sending Potra Clasica to Virginia this weekend for the All Along Stakes at Colonial Downs. Instead, he opted to keep his two-time stakes winner home at Calder for Saturday's $45,000 Liberada Stakes.

From the looks of things, Wolfson made a very wise choice.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Brown takes 2 shots at Manitoba

Trainer Jared Brown and owner-breeder K 5 Stable appear to have the top two horses for Saturday's $40,000 Manitoba Stakes here at Assiniboia Downs in Only Royal and Best and Bold. The Manitoba, a one-mile race for Manitoba-bred 3-year-olds and upward, attracted a field of eight.

Only Royal won a five-furlong maiden special weight race in his debut on May 13 before finishing sixth in the six-furlong Golden Boy Stakes on June 3. A son of Preakness Stakes winner Louis Quatorze, Only Royal is out of Only Dreaming, who won three stakes here at one mile.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Marquis Downs: Wind Dancer returns

Eight horses will line up against Wind Dancer, the 2005 Saskatchewan horse of the year and champion 3-year-old, in the $6,000 Inaugural Handicap at Marquis Downs on Saturday night.

The other logical contenders for the Inaugural, which is a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and upward, include Double Time, Sand Rush, and Bleu Royale.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Apprentices take first shot at Plate

Michael Burns Photo Ltd.
Hot Deputy, a longshot for Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate, trains at Woodbine on Wednesday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Last year, apprentice jockeys Emma-Jayne Wilson and Justin Stein finished one-two in the balloting for their Sovereign Award category and one-three in the Eclipse Award vote.

On Sunday, both Wilson and Stein will be competing in their first and last Queen's Plates as apprentice riders, although because the race is a stakes they will not be able to claim their five-pound allowances.

Wilson will lose her "bug" on Aug. 11, while Stein's allowance will expire Aug. 4.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Kabul gears up for another run at stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Kabul and Elle Runaway head a quality field of six fillies and mares in Saturday's Woodbine feature, an $87,900 allowance prep for the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes.

Kabul, a 6-year-old with career earnings of $705,572, has never won a stakes, but has come close on several occasions. She was second in four stakes at 3, two on dirt and two on turf, including a head loss to Classic Stamp in the nine-furlong Carotene.

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Giliforte moves into third spot

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Having scored a hat trick on Monday, Layne Giliforte moved into third place in the trainers standing here at Fort Erie. He is now three wins behind the leader, Nick Gonzalez, who has 10.

Giliforte, who operates at both Fort Erie and Woodbine, describes his 2006 season as "just okay."

He elaborated: "I'm happy how the season is going here, but I'm very disappointed with Woodbine. Nothing is running terrible there - I'm just not winning. And to me, that's what it's all about."

Thu, 06/22/2006 - 00:00

Wanna Runner gets post 9 in Plate

Wanna Runner, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, will break from post 9 in Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate at Woodbine.

The field of 13 for the 147th running of the Queen's Plate was introduced at the ceremonial draw Thursday, a two-tiered process in which the connections drew for their order of preference and then selected their own post positions.

Trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Mike Pegram, Wanna Runner drew the eighth choice in the selection process.

Wed, 06/21/2006 - 00:00

Track chooses new surface

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Hollywood Park will replace its main track with a synthetic surface made by Equestrian Surfaces of Burnley, England, at the conclusion of its current spring-summer meeting on July 16, track officials announced Wednesday.

The new surface is known as Cushion Track and consists of silica sand mixed with synthetic fibers, elastic fiber, and granulated rubber. The material is coated with a blend of wax.