Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Destiny Calls back for encore in Red Camelia

NEW ORLEANS - Reigning Louisiana-bred female champion Destiny Calls will give her fans at Fair Grounds one more look at an equine celebrity Sunday on the final day of the 2004-05 meet in the $100,000 Red Camelia Handicap, which she won last year.

, 5, led all the way in last year's renewal of the one-mile turf race for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares. Destiny Calls came out of that race with physical problems that sidelined her until October, when she returned and won the Victoria Stakes at Louisiana Downs.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Meet gets passing grade from Soth

NEW ORLEANS - Randall Soth has one overriding impression of his first season as president and general manager of Fair Grounds Race Course: How quickly the meet was over.

"It flew by," said Soth, who is used to the marathon summer meets at Calder. "This just went by so fast. It's hard to believe it's over."

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Daydreaming takes Next Move

Daydreaming bounced back from a disappointing seasonal debut to register a one-length victory over the previously undefeated Saintliness in Friday's Grade 3, $110,000 at Aqueduct.

It was another head back to Rare Gift in third.

Daydreaming, a multiple graded stakes winner last fall, finished fourth of five in the Sabin Handicap last month at Gulfstream. Trainer Shug McGaughey said he felt Daydreaming didn't like the track and was further compromised by a slow pace.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Lost in the Fog goes in Bay Shore

The undefeated 3-year-old Lost in the Fog will make his next start in the $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct on April 9, trainer Greg Gilchrist confirmed Friday.

The Grade 3 Bay Shore, contested at seven furlongs, is run on the undercard of the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, a Derby prep to which Lost in the Fog was not nominated.

Gilchrist reiterated that he and owner Harry Aleo would not pay the $6,000 late nomination fee to make Lost in the Fog eligible to the Triple Crown series.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Stalking trip looks ideal for Laguna Pointe

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Tense Wager, Hold the Game, and Laguna Pointe finished less than a length apart in last month's Burlingame Handicap at Bay Meadows.

The 3-year-old fillies renew their rivalry in Sunday's feature, a one-mile allowance race that goes as race 2.

Tense Wager lost by a nose to Cosmic Lady in the Burlingame. Hold the Game was third, beaten a neck, with favored Laguna Pointe fourth, beaten a half-length.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Les Crime enters dash on a roll

PORTLAND, Ore. - Les Crime shoots for his third straight win on Sunday when he heads a field of six older sprinters in a $3,200 starter allowance at six furlongs.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Racing at Fonner Park cancelled

Racing at Fonner Park was cancelled after the fifth of 10 live races Friday, when the riders voted not to ride due to unsafe track conditions. The track had been soaked by rain and snow showers through the week, with the surface saturated and the track's base becoming inconsistent. No further precipitation is in the forecast for the weekend, but conditions favorable to drying out the track were also doubtful. Racing is scheduled to resume Saturday and then will pick up next weekend, when first post time moves to 3 p.m. on Fridays.

Fri, 03/25/2005 - 00:00

Rocky Gulch's burden: 128

Sunland Park
Weight may be Rocky Gulch's toughest opponent in the Mt. Cristo Rey on Sunday.

Rocky Gulch, the best New Mexico-bred around and one of the best ever, has been a money machine when facing his peers the last couple of seasons, and that figures to continue despite a 128-pound assignment for Sunday's $102,850 Mt. Cristo Rey Handicap at Sunland Park. Five others will try to knock the champ off his perch in the 4 1/2-furlong event for New Mexico-breds.

Thu, 03/24/2005 - 00:00

Root has top pair in stakes

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Ben Root-trained duo of One Fast Cowgirl and My Emy My Amy head a cast of eight 3-year-old fillies in Saturday's one-mile Mt. St. Helens Stakes at Portland Meadows.

One Fast Cowgirl, who races for Margaret Root, and My Emy My Amy, who is owned by Go Amy Go Racing, finished a neck apart in fourth and fifth in the one-mile Mary Goldblatt Stakes for Oregon-bred fillies on March 5. The Goldblatt was won by divisional leader Quartern, another Root trainee, who is being pointed for the U.S. Bank Stakes at Emerald Downs on April 17.

Thu, 03/24/2005 - 00:00

High Standards tries to stay perfect

ARCADIA, Calif. - He's run at three tracks, at three different class levels, and with three different riders. Change, it seems, is good for High Standards. His one constant has been victory. Three times to the post, three times to the winner's circle.