Whenever there is an Oregon-bred stakes on the card at Portland Meadows, trainer Ben Root is in for a busy day.
Root always has a lot of young Oregon-breds in his barn, in large part because his parents, Jack and Cookie Root, are the state's largest breeders. The trainer's racing program is consequently geared toward the several Oregon-bred stakes on the Portland Meadows schedule, two of which will be run on Saturday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Cryptograph, coming off an impressive score in the Durham Cup here Oct. 15, will be solidly backed to repeat when he takes on seven rivals in Saturday's $164,400 Woodbine Slots Cup.
Both the Durham Cup and Woodbine Slots Cup are Grade 3 handicaps, with the Durham Cup at 1 1/8 miles and the Slots Cup at 1 1/16 miles.
Malcolm Pierce, who conditions Cryptograph for Pin Oak Stable, does not believe the cutback in distance will present a problem.
"He's got a really good kick," said Pierce, "and as long as there's an honest pace, he comes running."
Inclement weather prompted Hoosier Park in Anderson, Ind., to cancel its Thursday card and the final nine races of Wednesday's 12-race card.
The track was thoroughly soaked by rain Tuesday night, and temperatures dropped well below freezing Wednesday night. The riders voted not to continue after Wednesday's third race as the surface began to freeze. Thursday's forecast high was 31, with the low dropping back into the teens that night. Racing is expected to resume Friday as temperatures rise back into the 40's.
Ocean Runaway, who ran second as the 1-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby last Saturday, may try to earn a spot in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champion of Champions if he runs in one of the two Grade 3 Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials on Saturday at Los Alamitos.
Ocean Runaway would be returning on just a week's rest if he runs in the Directors, although his trainer, Denny Ekins, said he may be scratched.
Jazzy Okie has emerged as one of the best 2-year-old fillies in the Mid-South region, and the direction her campaign will take next year will be shaped somewhat on Saturday night, when she makes her two-turn and turf debut in the $40,000 Cimarron at Remington Park.
Jazzy Okie will go favored in the 7 1/2-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies by virtue of a 3-for-5 career record that includes a win over colts in the Iowa Stallion Futurity at Prairie Meadows.
Eight Ohio-accredited 2-year-old fillies, each seeking a first stakes victory, will go a mile in the $40,000 Glacial Princess Stakes at Beulah Park.
Three maidens are entered in the Glacial Princess, named after an Ohio champion mare who died on the track here and is buried near the infield tote board. The other five entrants all have just one victory.
Tommeyesgold and Mercy seem the most qualified to win as the only stakes-placed runners in the field.
Sky Valley Road, an easy winner of his first two starts, attempts to stretch out his speed to seven furlongs while returning from a two-month layoff and facing stakes company for the first time in Saturday's $50,000 Pennsylvania Nursery at Philadelphia Park.
The stakes, restricted to Pennsylvania-bred 2-year-old colts and geldings, drew a field of 13 runners. All except Sky Valley Road and Mieszko, whose two wins came for a claiming tag, have no more than a maiden victory to their credit.
The connections of the local 3-year-olds who entered Saturday's $40,000 Paradise Valley Handicap at Turf Paradise got a rude surprise when they found out the Southern California 3-year-old Chinese Dragon was in the race.
Owned by Mike Carter and trained by Bob Hess Jr., the stakes-winning Chinese Dragon will be an overwhelming favorite against nine others in Saturday's 7 1/2-furlong turf event.
