Fort Prado can win his second newly graded stakes race on Saturday night, when he starts as the 120-pound highweight in the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Breeders' Cup Turf Handicap at Sam Houston Race Park.
A 1 1/8-mile turf race, the Connally is the richest stakes of the meet, and for its 12th running this year it has been elevated to graded status. A field of 12 was entered, but the front-running Onthedeanslist has been scratched, Sam Houston officials said Thursday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - One year ago, trainer Maria Virginia Pascual registered her first stakes victory in the U.S. when she sent out Miss Victory to capture the Bob Slater Stakes at Gulfstream Park. On Saturday, her husband, Juan Carlos Vazquez, will shoot to win the sixth running of the five-furlong Bob Slater, saddling La Aspera in a field that includes odds-on favorite Whenthedoveflies.
OLDSMAR Fla. - Six stakes with purses totaling $450,000 are on tap for Saturday when Tampa Bay Downs presents it's fourth annual Florida Cup Day.
While the six $75,000 stakes are not restricted to Florida-breds, horses bred in the Sunshine State receive preference in case any of the races overfill, which two of them did this year.
The Florida Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Assocation, the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and Tampa Bay Downs all contribute to the stakes purses on Florida Cup Day.
Trickle of Gold, virtually unbeatable at Mid-Atlantic tracks last season, returns to her favorite region in Saturday's $85,000 Primonetta Stakes at Laurel Park after two unsuccessful trips to Southern California and Florida.
If Trickle of Gold, 4, regains the form that enabled her to win 6 of 7 starts at Delaware Park and Laurel in 2005, including the Grade 3 Safely Kept Breeders' Cup last October, the eight other fillies and mares in the six-furlong Primonetta will be running for second money.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Tonight Rainbow makes his third appearance of the year Saturday at Fonner Park, where he headlines the $30,000 Dowd Mile Stakes, a prep for the $100,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes later this month.
Trainer Boyd Caster has Tonight Rainbow going as strong as ever, but this talented sprinter has found only limited success at a mile or longer. He comes into the race off impressive wins in the half-mile Grasmick Stakes and the Budweiser-Tondi at six furlongs. His best showing at a distance was in the 2004 Bosselman, where he finished third, beaten a length.
ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's $40,000 San Ramon, a one-mile overnight stakes at Golden Gate Fields, offers handicappers a classic dilemma.
Do they want a speedster stretching out for the first time or a runner proven at the distance?
is the speedster. She earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure in a wire-to-wire allowance sprint win, then came back to win in front-running fashion again in an overnight sprint stakes.
Mr. Trieste has lost just once over the last 19 months and 10 races. He ran fifth that day, Jan. 7, in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at Louisiana Downs to Brass Hat, who came back to win the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream and then ran second in the $6 million Dubai World Cup.
Mr. Trieste meets no one like that on Saturday at Sunland Park, taking on seven other 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles in the $100,000 Sunland Park Handicap.
Saturday's $35,000 Arizona Stallion Stakes at Turf Paradise is a new game for most in the field - racing on turf. It also presents a problem for handicappers, as seven of the 10 entrants are maidens. The Arizona Stallion, for 3-year-olds sired by an Arizona stallion, is at 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass and only four of the entrants have raced on turf.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Main Executive will take a four-race win streak into Saturday's Woodbine headliner, a five-furlong optional claimer worth $66,800.
Main Executive's only loss came in his debut last Aug. 5, when he blew a clear lead in deep stretch and wound up second. The winner, Are You Serious, evolved into one of the top 3-year-old sprinters on the grounds, and won the Kennedy Road Stakes in December.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Crimson Design heads a field of seven in Saturday's $25,000-added Portland Meadows Mile, traditionally the centerpiece of this 80-day meeting.
The Mile card also includes the $10,000-added Donna Jensen Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles and the $7,500 Flashaway Invitational Handicap for older sprinters at five furlongs.
