ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A questionable ride in the Grade 2 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland may have cost Bear Character a spot in the May 6 Kentucky Derby. He finished a troubled third in the race, leaving him with insufficient graded earnings to make it into the Derby field.
Bear Character will try to get back on the winning track Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $150,000 Marine Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds in which he should be the prohibitive favorite.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Several Queen's Plate candidates were nominated for the Grade 3, $150,000 Marine, the open 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds that will be run here at Woodbine on Saturday.
But when a field of five was entered for the Marine, the only Queen's Plate nominee in the lineup was Malakoff, who is owned by Stronach Stable and trained by Brian Lynch.
Malakoff comes into the Marine after recording his first lifetime victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special here April 30.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - As an apprentice, Chad Beckon had a sparkling start on his way to capturing Fort Erie's riding title last year by a comfortable 15-win margin. He won the first three races of the meet.
This year, Beckon, now a journeyman, has had a rather ugly beginning. He was 0 for 37 for the year before he rode his first winner, which came at Woodbine on May 12. The horse was Fort Erie shipper Jammin in the Sand, at 27-1.
The joy was short-lived. In the parking lot, after his sole mount, Beckon found that his vehicle had been stolen.
CALGARY, Alberta - Dakota Duke, a closing second to stablemate Smudgeledo in the Stampede Park Sprint Championship here April 29, merits strong consideration in the $50,000 Teeworth Plate on Saturday afternoon. This Teeworth, contested at a mile, has plenty of speed signed on among the 10 older entrants and came up as a very contentious affair.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Bond Queen looks like the one they'll have to catch in the $50,000 Langley Handicap at Hastings Saturday. The 6 1/2-furlong feature for 3-year-old fillies drew five horses, including the 2005 Fantasy winner, Langara Lass.
Bond Queen led from start to finish to win the Supernaturel Stakes April 22 and was made the 1-2 favorite when she shipped to Stampede Park to run in the Mount Royal Stakes May 7. She finished third in the Mount Royal, which was won by Kaylee's Magic, and according to her trainer, Terry Jordan, she didn't have any excuses.
Woodbine-based jockey David Clark is facing five charges, including impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death, after being involved in a fatal collision Tuesday evening in the city of Vaughan, Ontario.
Regional police said Clark was southbound on Huntingdon Road, south of Major Mackenzie Drive, when his vehicle struck one traveling northbound.
Suzanne Mizuno, a 34-year-old passenger in the northbound vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene. Both the driver of the northbound vehicle and Clark were taken to the hospital for treatment and released.
BALTIMORE - When the best horse in a race is also the controlling speed, it makes for a lethal combination. On paper, Wanderin Boy looks like the best horse in Friday's $500,000 . And with the expected scratch of Funny Cide, Wanderin Boy now appears to be the controlling speed.
BALTIMORE - Much has been made of the exacting plan trainer Michael Matz designed for Barbaro to get him to the Kentucky Derby. In much the same way, trainer John Sadler is hoping the long-term plan he outlined with She's an Eleven will result in a victory on Friday in the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Pimlico.
After captured a maiden race at Santa Anita on March 2, Sadler decided to point for the Black-Eyed Susan, and with one prep before then, at Hollywood Park.
