HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - First Samurai was one of the most accomplished 2-year-olds of 2005, and will be a short price when he makes his 2006 debut in the Grade 2, $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Yet there are seven others entered against him, two of whom have run well enough against lesser competition recently to indicate they may have the best chance of pulling off an upset.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - For Barbaro, the Holy Bull Stakes on Saturday could be a turning point in his career. Should he successfully transfer his brilliant turf form to the dirt in the Grade 3, $150,000 race, he will immediately become one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby. If not, he will return to the turf, with a possible goal the Epsom Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Giacomo and Wilko have won two of the biggest races of their generation. Giacomo was 50-1 when he pulled an historic upset in the 2005 Kentucky Derby, six months after Wilko won the 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Lone Star Park at 28-1.
Neither colt has won since his big score. Saturday, each of them has a good chance to end a losing streak in the $300,000 at Santa Anita, a race that has drawn a competitive cast of 4-year-olds.
ARCADIA, Calif. - At the least, Bob and John is a very entertaining racehorse.
He often wins in a dazzling style, by numerous lengths, and on one occasion, controversially. His only stakes "win" was taken away from him. Bob and John finished first by six lengths in the Real Quiet Stakes at Hollywood Park in November, but was disqualified and placed third after slightly bothering a rival in early stretch.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Last summer at Del Mar, when Giacomo was taking it easy at trainer John Shirreffs's barn, the stable had visitors almost on a daily basis who wanted to see the Kentucky Derby winner. Shirreffs, ever the gracious host, kept a digital camera handy to accommodate the guests, many of whom later received an e-mail from the trainer with a picture of themselves and Giacomo.
"It's amazing how many people want to be around the Kentucky Derby winner," Shirreffs said earlier this week, recalling those days.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - One horse flying under the radar just a bit entering the Donn is Brass Hat, a three time Grade 2 winner who comes here off a 2 1/2-length victory in the New Orleans Handicap. A homebred son of Prized, Brass Hat is trained by Buff Bradley for his father, Fred Bradley.
Brass Hat arrived on the grounds last week from Kentucky to little fanfare and had a chance to get in a work over the track before the Donn, going five furlongs in 1:01 on Jan. 28.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Wild Fit, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last October, is on course for her 3-year-old debut in the $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 11. But trainer Patrick Biancone warns that Wild Fit may need a start to be at her best.
Thursday, Wild Fit breezed seven furlongs in 1:27.40 under jockey Alex Solis. It was her fifth workout since the start of the year.
"I would say she needs a little racing," Biancone said. "We'll start now and go from there. It's a long year."
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The rematch is on.
Rodeo's Castle and Beau's Town, who finished a neck apart in the Kenner Breeders' Cup at the Fair Grounds meet Jan. 14, head a field of 11 on Saturday in the $50,000 King Cotton at Oaklawn Park.
Others in the six-furlong King Cotton include Top Commander, winner of last year's Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint at Oaklawn; Level Playingfield, a multiple stakes winner for trainer Bob Holthus; and Joe Six Pack, who has been working lights out for his first start since August.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - There wasn't joy but there certainly was a palpable sense of relief for those associated with Funny Cide following his second-place finish in a money on Thursday at Gulfstream Park.
For the first time since October 2004, Funny Cide finished in the money, but more importantly, he showed a spark of life in the one-mile race. He finished second to the stakes-winning sprinter Sir Greeley by 1 1/2 lengths while outfinishing the race's odds-on favorite, Sun King, by 1 1/4 lengths. Sir Greeley was timed in a quick 1:34.42.
