ELMONT, N.Y. - Saturday's Grade 1 is being billed as a rematch between Hopeful one-two finishers First Samurai and Henny Hughes. Patrick Biancone, the trainer of Henny Hughes, says that is a mistake.
"There are some very talented horses in this race," Biancone said Thursday. "It's not a two-horse race. There are eight very, very qualified 2-year-olds. As you know, these babies change a lot."
ELMONT, N.Y. - Even though she was just standing in her stall munching on hay at the time, Adieu had to be considered a winner when Folklore romped to a 14-length victory in the Grade 1 Matron at Belmont Park on Sept. 17.
Three weeks earlier, Adieu had defeated Folklore in the Grade 2 Spinaway at Saratoga, the second time this year Adieu has beaten Folklore in a stakes. With Folklore awaiting the Breeders' Cup Juveniles on Oct. 29, Adieu looms a strong favorite against eight rivals in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Frizette at Belmont.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The Grade 2, $300,000 Jamaica Handicap on Saturday at Belmont Park will have a familiar feel.
Four of the seven runners in the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds come out of the Grade 3 Saranac Stakes at Saratoga, including the first three finishers: Jambalaya, Silver Whistle, and Woodlander.
earned the win by a hard-fought nose over Silver Whistle at the end of a prolonged stretch battle.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Over the last decade Nick Zito has become somewhat of a Champagne connoisseur.
Since 1995, Zito has participated in eight runnings of the Champagne. He has four wins, a second, and two thirds. The only year he didn't hit the board was in 1995, when his runners finished fifth and sixth.
Zito won three consecutive Champagnes from 1998-2000, with The Groom Is Red, Greenwood Lake, and AP Valentine. He won in 2003 with Birdstone.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Back home, mate, they do it all the time. Fillies run against colts, and if they're as good as Alinghi, they win more often than not.
Now comes the first time that , the superstar filly from Australia, will run against males in the United States. Saturday's $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the richest race of the Keeneland fall meet, follows a terrific Northern Hemisphere debut in which "The Wonder From Down Under" won the Aug. 29 Ballston Spa at Saratoga.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Regardless of whether Singletary wins Saturday's $250,000 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita, the rest of October will weigh heavily on the mind of his trainer, Don Chatlos.
If wins Saturday's important prep to the Breeders' Cup Mile at Belmont Park on Oct. 29, Chatlos can already imagine what the critics will say of his 5-year-old.
"For three weeks, I'll have to deal with, 'He's never won two races in a row,' " Chatlos said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - By the time the Del Mar meeting ended last month, Bilo and Captain Squire had made successful returns from layoffs, McCann's Mojave had left his team puzzled with a loss, and Indian Country had proven to be quite a claim.
Saturday, those four - along with , and Zanzibar - are seeking to enhance their reputations with a victory in the $250,000 Ancient Title Breeders' Cup Stakes at Santa Anita. For any of the runners, a win would mark their first victory at the Grade 1 level and could lead to a start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Belmont Park on Oct. 29.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Three of the 21 winners of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile made their previous start in the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity. When the Grade 1, $500,000 is run Saturday at Keeneland, though, it is unlikely the winner will have enough to become the fourth horse to achieve the feat. After all, the Champagne Stakes at Belmont, also Saturday, drew an extraordinary amount of talent, and it clearly is the premier prep for the BC Juvenile.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The figure stands out, but for the wrong reason. In going last to first in a visually impressive victory in the Sept. 17 Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turfway Park, Stream Cat earned a Beyer Speed Figure of just 73, a relatively low number that normally would make the colt an outsider Saturday in the Grade 1 Lane's End Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.
When the Turfway Park fall meet began in early September, horsemen and bettors alike could only guess which horses would excel over the new Polytrack surface. A month later, with the meet complete, the guesswork continues - except now it concerns whether Polytrack form will hold up over a traditional dirt surface.
Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Phoenix Breeders' Cup at Keeneland provides a testing ground. Four of the nine starters come off races over Polytrack, including two recent winners, .
