Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Megahertz at home for Yellow Ribbon

Horsephotos
At 6,Megahertz is likely to be retired at the end of the year after running in Saturday's Yellow Ribbon, and possibly the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Megahertz has made a career of winning stakes at Santa Anita. Since arriving from France at the start of 2002, Megahertz has won 8 of 12 starts at Santa Anita, including the San Gorgonio and Santa Ana handicaps and three runnings of the Santa Barbara Handicap.

Saturday, for the first time, she starts in the most prestigious turf race run at Santa Anita, the $500,000 Yellow Ribbon Stakes.

The race could be her final start in Southern California, and if she runs well, she would run next in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Wild Fit already running like a professional

ARCADIA, Calif. - Wild Fit, the unbeaten 2-year-old filly, seldom seems to act her age.

"She's like a 7-year-old gelding," said trainer Jeff Mullins. "She doesn't make any mistakes and loves her job."

even runs like a veteran, having won both of her races, including the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at Del Mar on Aug. 27. Saturday, Wild Fit risks her unbeaten record in the $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita, which at 1 1/16 miles will be her first start around two turns.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Greg's Gold out for year with bone chip

ARCADIA, Calif. - Greg's Gold, the winner of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Handicap at Del Mar in July, has been taken out of training because of a knee injury and will miss the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Belmont Park on Oct. 29, trainer David Hofmans said.

Greg's Gold, 4, will undergo surgery this weekend to have a bone chip removed from his left knee. The injury is expected to keep Greg's Gold out of training for four to six months, but the prognosis is "excellent," Hofmans said.

"He's been battling this since his last race," Hofmans said.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Getting stuck in traffic a blessing in disguise for Spaghetti Mouse

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The connections of nearly every horse involved in last Saturday's Grade 3 British Columbia Derby were hoping for a clean trip. Trainer Gary Demorest, however, said he felt that Spaghetti Mouse, who has a tendency to run off in his races, might be better off if he got stuck in traffic.

Demorest got his wish and the result was a convincing 3 1/2-length win over 31-1 shot Bull Ranch. Spaghetti Mouse paid $85.60 as the longest shot on the board.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Price drop should help Griffin's Wake

EDMONTON, Alberta - Perhaps conceding that the $22,000 claiming plateau was a little too ambitious, the connections of Griffin's Wake have dropped him to the $17,500 level in a six-furlong sprint here at Northlands Park on Saturday. Griffin's Wake will face eight rivals in the seventh-race feature.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Alumni Hall fits better in Meadowlands Cup

Jack Coady/Coady Photography
Alumni Hall is well-suited to the 1 1/8 miles of the Meadowlands Cup.

Trainer Neil Howard held Alumni Hall out of Saturday's $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park and will instead point him to the $500,000 Meadowlands Cup on Oct. 7.

Howard and owner Will Farish deemed the competition in the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup to be too tough. While Alumni Hall, who won the Grade 3 Ben Ali earlier this year, is coming off a nice allowance win at Saratoga, horses such as Borrego, Flower Alley, and Lava Man are all coming out of solid Grade 1 performances.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Multiple stakes winners go for Pish

Goosey Moose and Agrivating General have been something of a dynamic duo for trainer Danny Pish. Each has won multiple stakes, and earlier this summer the pair finished one-two in the richest Texas-bred offering for their division, the $125,000 Assault Stakes.

Saturday night, both horses will move back to the Texas-bred ranks for the $100,000 Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race that is one of six restricted Thoroughbred stakes at Retama Park.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Top statebreds in Best of Ohio

GROVE CITY, Ohio - Large, competitive fields are the rule on Saturday when Beulah Park hosts the Best of Ohio series, which consists of five stakes for statebreds and rotates among Ohio's three Thoroughbred tracks on a yearly basis.

The $75,000 Best of Ohio Endurance highlights the program. The rapidly improving 3-year-old gelding Ready for Roses heads a field of 12 entered in the 1 1/4-mile Endurance.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Dee Dee's Diner leads army of invaders

PHOENIX - It's been a recurring theme the past few seasons - put up some decent money and in come the invaders. Southern California shipper Dee Dee's Diner will try to raid the pot at Turf Paradise as the favorite in Saturday's $40,000 City of Phoenix Handicap. The six-furlong event for fillies and mares is the first stakes of the meet, which runs through May 21, and it has lured a field of seven.

Thu, 09/29/2005 - 00:00

Lot of possibilities in Indiana Derby

Jim Linscott
Scrappy T gallops Thursday at Hoosier Park under Neil Stalhiem, an outrider at the track.

ANDERSON, Ind. - There is no shortage of intrigue surrounding the nine-horse lineup assembled for Saturday's Grade 2, $500,000-added Indiana Derby at Hoosier Park.

Scrappy T and Greater Good will both be making their first start following a long layoff. Greater Good hasn't raced since the Kentucky Derby, while Scrappy T has been on the shelf since tussling with Afleet Alex entering the stretch of the Preakness, a race in which he finished a clear second.