INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A. P. Warrior will have a new rider and Your Tent or Mine will have a clean slate when the two stakes-winning colts meet June 17 in the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park. The 1 1/16-mile race kicks off the second half of the season for West Coast 3-year-olds and gives A. P. Warrior a shot at redemption after finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby.
"I just have to throw that race out, and try to find the right mix," trainer John Shirreffs said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For a filly still eligible for the most basic allowance condition, Miss Norman sure has drawn a lot of attention.
Miss Norman was in the news several weeks ago when she was purchased by Lewis Lakin and Clifford Grum for a reported mid- to high six-figure sum. A few days earlier, the filly flaunted her considerable speed when opening up on the Kentucky Oaks field down the backstretch, though she faded to finish 12th of 14 starters.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - An aggressive move by trainer Tim Hills in Florida put Cherokee Jewel in a very strong position for the $38,000 allowance feature for fillies and mares Thursday at Monmouth Park.
A 3-year-old making only her third start, Cherokee Jewel drops from a second-level allowance race to a first-level allowance at six furlongs on dirt. She faces six rivals.
"She's a horse we have a lot of hopes for," Hills said. "She showed a lot of promise in her first two races."
CHICAGO - With 10 wins and 8 seconds from 36 starts during the first month of a long meet, most horse trainers would be getting hourly hosannas. For Wayne Catalano, the record is almost ho-hum.
It's Catalano himself who has set the bar so high at Arlington. He has become the perennial leading trainer here, his main client Frank Calabrese the leading owner season after season. There have been stretches early in Arlington seasons, when Catalano's outfit has all their ducks in a row, during which the barn will win a couple each day for a week.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Three years ago, trainer Ricardo Perez decided to try Dancing Pioneer on the turf. Perez said he learned that Dancing Pioneer "loves the turf," and the gelding, now 6, has turned into a useful runner on the surface.
is 0 for 7 on the main track. All three of his career victories have come on the grass.
"He always tries hard, but all his best races have been on the turf," Perez said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The six 3-year-olds in Thursday's Woodbine feature are all trying the grass for the first time in the seven-furlong allowance. Golden Mood is a standout on pedigree, and his readiness following a seven-month layoff is what handicappers must ponder when sizing up his chances.
It's a safe bet that nobody has traveled farther to participate in racing at Louisiana Downs this meet than jockey Jose Verenzuela and his agent, Keith Dickey. Both came here from Saudi Arabia, where Verenzuela was a contract rider for King Abdullah and Dickey ran a 2-year-old barn for Prince Sultan.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A week after sweeping divisions of the New York Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park, trainer Steve Asmussen will be in a position to capture both $100,000-estimated divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity at Lone Star Park.
Asmussen will start the probable favorite and fastest qualifier in each race, to be run here Saturday. Grade 3 winner Datrick is one of four starters Asmussen has for the colts division of the TTA. For the fillies division, a race Asmussen has won a record six times, he will be represented by Miss Mary Pat.
AUBURN, Wash. - Trainer Junior Coffey said Raise the Bluff emerged from his come-from-behind victory in Sunday's 6 1/2-furlong Pepsi-Cola Handicap in good shape, but he was not ready to commit to running the 3-year-old back in the one-mile Tacoma Handicap July 2.
"It seems as though he runs best with plenty of time between his races, so I really don't know if he will be back for the next stakes or not," said Coffey. "I'll just keep watching him and see if he won't tell me when he is ready to run again."