HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Jonesboro might be the sleeper in the Grade 3, $100,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. Perfect in two starts over the local track, he was a sharp winner off an eight-month layoff last out in Louisiana and will be stretching back out to his preferred trip, two turns, for the 1 1/16-mile Essex.
"I know he's a nice horse," said Randy Morse, who trains Jonesboro for Michael Langford. "How good? We'll let him show us. So far, he's doing really, really well."
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Owner Ernie Paragallo is hoping to get one more easy race into Achilles of Troy before hitting the Triple Crown trail in earnest next month. On paper, at least, Saturday's $65,000 Whirlaway Stakes should fit the bill.
, the 14-length winner of last month's Count Fleet Stakes, meets six challengers in the Whirlaway, which at 1 1/16 miles is only 40 yards farther than the Count Fleet. He will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Ed Moger Jr. summed up Saturday's $100,000 California Breeders' Cup Oaks at Golden Gate Fields succinctly: "It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be."
The Moger-trained is one of the reasons the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies is so tough. She just won the $75,000 Burlingame at Bay Meadows by two lengths, but four of her eight rivals also have stakes victories, and two others are stakes-placed. Cases can be made for almost all of the entrants, as only the maiden Political Web seems to be shooting for the moon here.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With a pair of seemingly talented 3-year-olds in her barn in Achilles of Troy and Scanlon's Song, trainer Jennifer Pedersen should be enjoying herself a lot more than she is these days.
For reasons both personal and professional, this has been a difficult winter for Pedersen. In addition to dealing with some health issues for her and her daughter, Pedersen trains for the impetuous Ernie Paragallo, a hands-on owner in a similar vein as George Steinbrenner, principal owner of baseball's New York Yankees.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Bullish-demands will return to action in Saturday's six-furlong Sweetheart Handicap for older fillies and mares, and trainer Gene Davis hopes she will return to form as well.
Bullishdemands, a 4-year-old daughter of Bull Inthe Heather who races for Michael Radovich, was dominant here in the fall, defeating older rivals by open lengths in a pair of sprint stakes. She finished a dull seventh in the one-mile City of Roses Handicap on Dec. 10, however, and has not raced since.
Don Rice, a six-time leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs, has been suspended and denied access to the grounds for an additional six months by Tampa's management after a third horse he trains tested positive for excessive alkalizing agents.
Earlier this week, Rice was suspended for 30 days by Tampa when two of his horses tested positive for alkalizing agents, which are thought to help horses stave off fatigue. Tampa officials had said a third postrace sample was pending.
Tampa Bay began testing for alkalizing agents in January.
Ray Tromba has resigned his position as vice president of racing operations at Louisiana Downs, ending a more than 18-year tenure with the Bossier City, La., track. Tromba said he submitted his resignation last week, and it became effective on Thursday.
Tromba said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He said he wanted to resign well in advance of the opening of the Louisiana Downs meet on May 5 as a courtesy to officials with Harrah's, which owns the track.
PHOENIX - The surging Western Act faces two strong invaders as he goes for his third straight victory at the meet in Saturday's $75,000 Turf Paradise Handicap.
The marquee race of the meet, the Turf Paradise Handicap is at 1 1/16 miles on the turf and has attracted a field of 12. It is the highlight of a 10-race program that also includes the $75,000 Turf Paradise Derby. The $75,000 Arizona Oaks was supposed to be run Saturday, but was scrapped because it did not fill.
PHOENIX - The addition of blinkers may well have turned Sky Diving into a new horse. A 3-year-old son of top-class router Aptitude, Sky Diving first wore them Jan. 25 at Bay Meadows and responded with a 14-length laugher over maidens. That performance makes Sky Diving the horse to beat in Saturday's $75,000 Turf Paradise Derby, a 1 1/16-mile event that lured eight 3-year-olds.
