When informed by track officials that Friday's $500,000 Pimlico Special was coming up light, trainer Barclay Tagg decided to enter Funny Cide in the Grade 1 race just to take a look.
Now, Tagg's fellow trainers and handicappers alike will be watching to see if Tagg leaves the 2003 dual-classic winner in the Special or sticks with his original plan to run Funny Cide in Saturday's $100,000 William Donald Schaefer Handicap on the Preakness undercard.
CHICAGO - City Number looked good winning an entry-level sprint allowance race by seven lengths on Friday at Arlington Park. The victory earned his three-person partnership $17,400 in purse money - and gave trainer Hugh Robertson a chance to shave.
A decidedly scruffy Robertson had vowed two days prior not to remove his whiskers until one of his horses crossed the finish line first. Nineteen days after his previous winner, City Number obliged, and Robinson won another on Saturday when Crater Maker took an Illinois-bred maiden race.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Wanna Runner has proven to be a horse who takes his track with him and next month the plan is to take him to his native Canada for the $1 million Queen's Plate. He remains on course for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown after easily winning the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Derby here last Saturday.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - The big story at the Bay Meadows holiday meet and the Golden Gate Fields spring meet was the development and success of apprentice rider Martin Garcia.
While Garcia earned the headlines as he shared the Bay Meadows riding title with Russell Baze, then defeated Baze at Golden Gate Fields, another apprentice was quietly moving up in the standings. Luis Martinez finished third in the Golden Gate Fields jockey standings with 58 victories.
Nikki Nine overcame a head-to-head battle with Lovesablumin for nearly five-eighths of a mile before edging clear and claiming a one-length victory over that rival in the $15,375 Princess Stakes to post her third stakes win of the year.
Dave fired the first salvo in the race for supremacy among New York-bred turf males with a strong stretch move that carried him from eighth to first in Sunday's $114,100 Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park.
Dave, who finished a strong second in an open-company allowance race on April 28, rallied strongly while four wide under Javier Castellano to outfinish defending Kingston winner Golden Commander by one length. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to Pa Pa Da in third.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - High Button Shoes ran too well to lose when making her seasonal debut in the April 16 Whimsical here at Woodbine, surviving a five-horse speed duel and battling on grimly to lose by a neck to the in-form Abounding Truth.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Laughing Moon has a slight Beyer Figure advantage in Wednesday's Woodbine headliner, but he could bounce in the six-furlong allowance for 3-year-olds and up, and is certainly no cinch to prevail.
Laughing Moon, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding, made both of his 2005 starts in June. He graduated second time out in a seven-furlong maiden special, earning an 81 Beyer.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Blazing Sunset, the longest shot in a field of six, led throughout Sunday's $86,150 Alydar Stakes at Hollywood Park. The victory represented Blazing Sunset's first stakes win.
Blazing Sunset ($23.20) set a quick pace of 23.11 and 46.48 seconds, leading by 1 1/2 lengths over Greedy Way on the backstretch. Ridden by Tyler Baze, Blazing Sunset opened up a three-length advantage in the stretch and held off a late run from 7-5 favorite Neko Bay to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Blazing Sunset finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.01.
