AUBURN, Wash. - When Flamethrowin-texan first arrived at Emerald Downs as a 3-year-old in July 2004, his past performances consisted of eight sprint races, five of which he had won. The big question at that time was: Can he go long?
He answered that question definitively with 7 wins from 11 subsequent races, all but one of them routes. Flamethrowintexan has routed so exclusively since he arrived in the barn of trainer Jim Penney that it might now be fair to ask: Can he still sprint?
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Janet Armstrong and owner Syd Belzberg, who races as the Budget Stable, have teamed to win the last two stakes for 3-year-olds at the meet. Last weekend, Sophie's Trophy won the Langley Stakes for 3-year-old fillies and on May 6 Potrero Station won the 6 1/2-furlong Klondike Stakes.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Honey Ryder is certainly the horse to beat in Saturday's $150,000 Sheepshead Bay Handicap at Belmont Park, but there are a couple of reasons that handicappers may want to play against her.
First, Honey Ryder is 0 for 5 on Belmont's turf. Second, in a race lacking speed, Honey Ryder may find herself pressing a slow pace, something that proved her undoing when she finished fifth as the favorite in this race last year. Finally, she meets a quality field that includes proven marathoners Asi Siempre, Angara, Latice, and Noble Stella.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Jockey John Velazquez, who suffered a fractured shoulder blade and a cracked rib in a spill at Keeneland on April 20, may be back in time to ride in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.
On Wednesday, Velazquez got on horses for the first time since the accident and worked the unraced 3-year-old Spring at Last five furlongs in 1:00.82 from the gate for trainer Todd Pletcher. Velazquez, winner of the Eclipse Award as the nation's leading rider the last two years, said he could return to the saddle the week of the Belmont.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It was a little more than a year ago at Churchill Downs that trainer Neil Howard unveiled a first-time starter named Reunited. Most of the racing world must have heard wonderful things about the Dixie Union filly, because after Reunited led all the way to win by nearly seven lengths, she returned a mere $3.80.
INGLEWOOD, Calif.- Hello Irish, Lost on Champagne, and Maria's Quest give owner Daniel Cardenas and trainer Sal Gonzalez a powerful team for Saturday's $65,000 Cinderella Stakes at Hollywood Park.
Bettors, however, are on their own trying to determine which of the three 2-year-old fillies will run best in the 5 1/2-furlong race.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Joe Orseno admits he made some mistakes with Halos Sailing Sain this year, putting him in tough spots at Gulfstream Park and Lone Star Park, where he has lost all four of his starts this season.
Orseno will try to get Halos Sailing Sain back in the win column Saturday in the $65,000 Frisk Me Now Stakes at Monmouth Park. A mile and 70-yard race, the Frisk Me Now attracted a strong field of 11, including Park Avenue Ball, who was last season's champion New Jersey-bred, and Network, a multiple stakes winner here last year.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - April Foolish makes her 2006 debut in an optional $50,000 claiming sprint for fillies and mares that goes as the eighth race at Hastings on Saturday. The 6 1/2-furlong feature drew eight horses.
April Foolish won her first three races last year and ran very well in her fourth and final outing of 2005 to finish second to Spirit to Spare in an optional $62,500 claiming race Sept. 3. Spirit to Spare went on to place in a graded stakes at Santa Anita, and she also won the first two sprint stakes for fillies and mares at this meet.
