The Grade 1 Allen Jerkens Stakes for 3-year-olds at Saratoga on Aug. 28 is a summertime goal for Dr. Schivel, the sharp winner of an allowance race at Santa Anita in his 2021 debut last Friday.
Trainer Mark Glatt said Dr. Schivel could run before then in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes against older horses at six furlongs at Del Mar on July 31, or the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes against 3-year-olds at six furlongs at Saratoga the following day.
Express Train, a Grade 2 winner in January who was third in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 31, will start in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 17, trainer John Shirreffs said on Wednesday.
Race plans have not been finalized for Midcourt, who won his first start of 2021 in an allowance race at a mile at Santa Anita last Friday for Shirreffs. Both horses are owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stables.
At this point, it’s hard to knock the hard-knocking 7-year-old turf sprinter The Critical Way. He’s run five races during 2021, all strong performances, and made short work of six rivals Saturday at Monmouth Park in the $75,000 Get Serious Stakes. The Critical Way, who often has led, pressed the early pace under Paco Lopez before taking over and winning by three lengths, earning a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure.
Improving 4-year-old Vigilantes Way came out of her decisive win in the Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes in good shape, trainer Shug McGaughey said, and appears to be a filly on the rise. Vigilantes Way earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure while winning her first graded race.
Trainer Graham Motion definitely wants to race Mean Mary, who won the New York Stakes at Belmont in her most recent start, in the Beverly D. Stakes on Aug. 14 at Arlington, but he also is toying with an interim race in the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth.
“It’s a long time to wait for the Beverly D., and we might want to run in the U.N.,” Motion said. “I think I’d just wait for Arlington, though, if we don’t go to Monmouth.”
Trainer Guadalupe Preciado reported Wednesday that unbeaten Chub Wagon is only "50-50" to compete in the Grade 2, $350,000 Princess Rooney Invitational at Gulfstream on July 3 due to a recent illness.
The 4-year-old daughter of Hey Chub ran her streak to seven with a game victory in the Shine Again Stakes at Pimlico on June 13. She earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure that afternoon after denying Maryland-bred champion Hello Beautiful following a thrilling stretch drive.
The top Texas-bred runner Direct Dial earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure for his win over Mr Money Bags in the $75,000 Wayne Hanks Memorial earlier this month at Lone Star Park. The 6-year-old earned a Beyer Figure of 91 for his half-length victory. Direct Dial covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.37.
“It was as good a race as he’s ever run,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Direct Dial. “It was a solid time and it was a quality field. It was his ninth stakes win and it put him over $500,000 in earnings. It was a very significant win.”
Fair Grounds in New Orleans will have its traditional Thanksgiving start date later this year after the Louisiana Racing Commission approved an amended calendar for the track’s upcoming meet.
The original request was to open Dec. 2, but the commission at a meeting approved an updated request for an 80-date meet starting Nov. 25, according to Charles Gardiner, the commission’s executive director. He said the meet will run through March 27.
Jockey Reylu Gutierrez, who earlier this year moved his tack from New York to Texas, is sitting on a busy summer. He has mounts in all four stakes being run Sunday at Lone Star Park, and after the meet closes on July 11 he will head to Colonial Downs in Virginia.
Gutierrez said he will ride the Colonial meet, then base at Remington Park in Oklahoma City.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said the Grade 3 Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga would likely be next for his 3-year-old prospect Collaborate.
The lightly raced Collaborate bounced back from a disappointing effort as the overwhelming favorite in the Roar Stakes earlier this spring to easily defeat allowance opposition going a mile here Sunday, earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure. The Curlin would mark the second start at nine furlongs for Collaborate, who finished a tiring fifth as the second betting choice in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in March.
