Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Ward filly solid pick off the turf

CHICAGO - Trainer John Ward has expressed interest in running 3-year-old filly For All We Know in the Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes on June 25 at Belmont Park, but first, she needs another race. To that end, For All We Know was entered Thursday in Sunday's seventh race at Arlington, a second-level allowance scheduled for about one mile on grass.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Master of Disaster on rise

Hoofprints, Inc.
Master of Disaster earned a 96 Beyer in his debut, the top figure for a 2-year-old this year.

Afleet Alex, High Limit, and Bellamy Road all won their maidens at Delaware Park last season and went on to run in at least one of the first two legs of this season's Triple Crown.

Could the 2-year-old Master of Disaster follow in their footsteps?

Master of Disaster, a son of Master Dancer trained by Steve Klesaris, won his career debut on May 10 by 13 1/4 lengths. He equaled the track record for 4 1/2 furlongs by covering the distance in 51.86 seconds over a track that was fast but dull.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Two Gomez prospects have futures

MIAMI - Frank Gomez, who has trained some of the best 2-year-olds to come out of south Florida over the past two decades, appears to have a couple of more top young prospects on his hands after sending out Home Before Midnite and In Summation to debut victories this week.

Gomez, whose former trainees include Smile, Princess Rooney, and Cherokee Run, saddled Home Before Midnite to a 1 1/4-length maiden win on Sunday and returned on Friday with an even more impressive effort from In Summation, who won his career debut by 4 3/4 lengths.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

P. Val targets Del Mar return

Benoit & Associates
Megahertz may have only five opponents when she runs in the Grade 1 Gamely BC Handicap on May 30.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela will be out until early July, recovering from injuries suffered when he fell shortly after the start of a sprint at Hollywood Park on May 8, he said earlier this week.

Valenzuela, the leading rider at the Santa Anita winter meeting earlier this year, underwent surgery on Monday to repair cartilage damage to his right knee. He said he is still suffering from headaches caused by a concussion sustained in the fall.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Proctor favorite can be beaten

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - An upset is brewing Sunday at Hollywood Park, where an undistinguished field of 2-year-olds races five furlongs in the $75,000 Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Pimlico special-Preakness double will-pays

Will pay prices coupling Eddington (number 5), the winner of Friday's Pimlico Special, with runners in Saturday's Preakness Stakes:

Number HorsePayoff
1Malibu Moonshine $526.20
2High Fly $51.40
3Noble Causeway $73.40
Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

No shortage of speed in feature

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The pace figures to be hotly contested in the feature race at Hastings Sunday, a $35,000 optional sprint for fillies and mares that drew 10 horses. That being the case, it should set up for either a stalker or deep closer. Regardless of how the race develops, it appears to be a wide-open event with no clear favorite.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Two lower their sights to allowance

CALGARY, Alberta - Gusso and Captain Tommy G were both nominated to the May 28 Hoofprint on My Heart, but their connections opted for the cozier confines of a two-other-than optional claimer on Sunday at Stampede Park, which drew just five 3-year-olds. The six-furlong race runs as the fourth of eight here.

A win by either Gusso or Captain Tommy G would propel him along the trail to the June 18 Alberta Derby.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Poker Brad makes rare sprint start

AUBURN, Wash. - Poker Brad will launch his 7-year-old campaign as the 119-pound highweight in Sunday's $40,000 Fox Sports Net Handicap at Emerald Downs.

Poker Brad earned his highweight package with eight wins, three of them in stakes, from 35 starts for $374,165 in earnings. He is not expected to be favored, however, in the field of eight going 6 1/2 furlongs because he will be attempting a sprint distance for only the third time.

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 00:00

Specht's trio badly positioned

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Steve Specht will send out among the five fillies and mares meeting in Sunday's $55,000 Camila Urso at Golden Gate Fields.

Despite having 60 percent of the entrants, Specht had zero percent of the luck at the draw, when his entrants drew what he considered poor posts. Storminbayoubabe drew the rail, Princess Lianna post 2, and Our Mango the outside post. The two others in the field, Platinum Princess and Yerevan Star, will break from post 3 and post 4.