OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Say Hey Willie, who set the pace in the Rare Treat Handicap on short rest last time out, may be the one to catch as she drops back to a second-level allowance in Thursday's featured eighth race at Aqueduct.
A field of nine, including the Tom Bush-trained entry of True Gold and Judy Soda, entered the mile and 70-yard race for older fillies and mares.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Afleet Alex returned to the track on Tuesday and delighted trainer Tim Ritchey with how "fresh" he looked after putting up the year's highest Beyer Speed Figure by a 3-year-old in last Saturday's at Oaklawn Park.
Afleet Alex, who is a top Kentucky Derby candidate, was making his first start since the Breeders' Cup in October in the six-furlong race, and earned a Beyer Figure of 106.
Pete's Surprise and Shanghied were honored as Manitoba's best Thoroughbred racehorses of 2004 at the province's Canadian Thorough-bred Horse Society/Horse-men's Benevolent and Protective Association awards dinner at Assiniboia Downs on Saturday night.
Pete's Surprise, a 4-year-old who won one stakes race and finished second in four others at Assiniboia Downs, was named horse of the year and top older filly or mare by the horse society, which honors Manitoba-breds.
NEW ORLEANS - Eight 3-year-old colts, headed by Grade 3 Risen Star winner Scipion, are possible for Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Louisiana Derby, a key prep for the Kentucky Derby.
Post positions for the 1 1/16-mile race will be drawn Wednesday morning, along with three other stakes on the Louisiana Derby card - the Grade 2, $300,000 Fair Grounds Oaks, the Grade 2, $500,000 New Orleans Handicap, and the Marie Krantz Memorial Handicap. The four stakes will be linked in a guaranteed $250,000 pick-four bet.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Hall of Fame trainers Neil Drysdale and Bobby Frankel have entered five of the seven older horses in a $60,000 allowance race at Santa Anita on Wednesday, but one of the "other" horses, Stanley Park, looks capable of pulling an upset.
John Shirreffs, who trains Stanley Park, thinks the 5-year-old will run well in his second start following a 15-month layoff. On Feb. 3, Stanley Park finished eighth in an optional claimer over a mile.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A day after his stable went one-two in Saturday's Santa Anita Handicap with Rock Hard Ten and Congrats, trainer Richard Mandella was plotting the future for the two horses, with diverse goals in mind.
Rock Hard Ten will get a brief vacation, while Congrats is likely to be sent to Dubai for the $6 million Dubai World Cup on March 26. Mandella won the 2004 Dubai World Cup with Pleasantly Perfect.
Mandella said that the 4-year-old Rock Hard Ten is not ready for a worldwide trip, particularly after three stakes wins since Christmas.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Graham Motion was delighted with Code Cracker's second-place finish behind odds-on favorite Wanderin Boy when Code Cracker made his 2005 debut in the opening week of the meet, Jan. 7. He was even more pleased when Wanderin Boy returned a month later to win the Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap at Fair Grounds.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - If trainers Ken McPeek and Rick Violette could have traded post positions, Kansas City Boy and Dearest Mon would have run as scheduled in Saturday's Fountain of Youth Stakes. Instead, McPeek and Violette opted to scratch out of the Grade 2 race and work their Kentucky Derby hopefuls five furlongs in preparation for engagements this coming Saturday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Mark Hennig's stable has not enjoyed as much success this winter in New York as it has in Florida. Perhaps a few horses who wintered in Florida can help turn around his fortunes in New York.
Hennig last week sent four horses to New York, including Storm Minstrel, who has a chance at knocking off probable odds-on favorite Bank Audit in Wednesday's featured $54,000 allowance race at six furlongs.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Always Noble tries to become the first three-time winner of the Oaklawn Park meet in Wednesday's ninth race. The 1 1/16-mile allowance carries an optional claiming price of $62,500 and drew a well-matched field of nine. The purse is $36,000.
has been in the zone since being claimed for $40,000 on Nov. 2. He has won 3 of his 4 subsequent starts and has compiled a 2-for-3 record at Oaklawn.
