ALBANY, Calif. - The big horses were out Sunday when Cause to Believe and Lost in the Fog both turned in solid drills under jockey Russell Baze at Golden Gate Fields.
Lost in the Fog gave Baze, trainer Greg Gilchrist, and owner Harry Aleo a fright at the end of his workout, stumbling twice as he was pulling up, but Gilchrist could find nothing wrong immediately.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The lineup for the 1 1/2-mile race Wednesday at Aqueduct has a familiar feel, but the pace scenario could play out very differently than it did the last time several in the field met.
The optional claimer for New York-breds, which carries a purse of $44,000, attracted 10 runners, including five who contested a 1 5/8-mile race here Feb. 10. , the upset winner of that race at 8-1, returns, as does Cold Blow Lane, the pacesetting runner-up.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Jockey Richard Migliore launches his comeback with a single mount on Thursday's Big A card.
He has been sidelined since breaking a leg and injuring an Achilles tendon in a paddock accident at Belmont Park on Oct. 20.
He returns in the sixth race aboard Teakwood, a 3-year-old New York-bred first-timer sent out by trainer Dominic Galluscio.
Migliore, who turns 42 on March 14, was galloping horses in Florida until last week. He has started the process of getting back on horses for New York trainers.
Aside from some minor shuffling of dates and one renamed race, the 2006 stakes schedule at Delaware Park closely resembles the schedule at the Stanton, Del., track last year.
Each of the 28 stakes from last year returns at the same purse level, highlighted by the $1 million Delaware Handicap for fillies and mares on July 16.
The Delaware Handicap undercard has gotten a boost with the addition of the $200,000 Caesar Rodney. The 1 1/8-mile turf race was run in early September last year.
Also moving are the $100,000 Sussex and the Grade 3, $500,000 Kent Breeders' Cup.
Indy Wildcat, a maiden invader from Southern California, picked the right day to find himself, capturing the $100,000 at Sunland Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Borderland Derby serves as the key prep for the $600,000 WinStar Derby, also at Sunland, on April 1. Any horse who sweeps the Borderland, WinStar, and Kentucky derbies will receive a $500,000 bonus.
The filly Nikki Nine flashed early speed, then continued on strongly in the stretch to pull off a $20.80 win against males, including 7-10 favorite Did, in Saturday's $11,125 Bachman Stakes for her first career stakes win. With Larren Delorme riding, Nikki Nine covered the half-mile in 47.60 seconds in the race for 3-year-olds.
Trained by Kim Veerhusen for the partnership of his brother Todd and Whispering Pines, Nikki Nine earned her second career victory in eight starts. Did held second, a length in front of Windy Rush, who checked in third after a rough start.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Atlando beat T.H. Approval by three-quarters of a length in Sunday's $150,000 at Santa Anita.
The key to victory was an early move by jockey Martin Pedroza, who sent Atlando to the front before the field reached the stretch. The extended rally gave Atlando a lead in the final furlong that a courageous T.H. Approval could not overcome under jockey Alex Solis. The San Luis Obispo was T.H. Approval's first start in seven months.
"I made the first move on Solis and I think that was the winning move," Pedroza said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Regal Engagement squeezed through a narrow opening in deep stretch to win the $70,655 Busher Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Sunday at Aqueduct.
It was a race in which little unfolded as expected.
Daytime Promise was the 4-5 favorite following a pair of dominant inner-track wins that included the Busanda Stakes on Jan. 22.
Somewhat surprisingly, Daytime Promise was the trailer in the seven-horse field through the first quarter and wound up in a tight spot turning for home.
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - Gold Medal Jess won his first major stakes in Saturday's $204,350 , earning an automatic berth to the $600,000 Champion of Champions in December.
Gold Medal Jess beat nine rivals, including Whosleavingwho, the winner of the 2002 Champion of Champions. An 8-year-old gelding, Whosleavingwho finished fifth and was retired by his owners afterward. He won 23 of 47 starts and $1,334,842.
