HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Island Sand, who was just beginning her ascent as the Oaklawn meet ended last year, comes into this season a Grade 1 winner and arguably the top local hope for the $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 9.
Island Sand will likely make her 4-year-old debut in the $50,000 Pippin at Oaklawn on Feb. 20. She is also a candidate for the Grade 3, $175,000 Oaklawn Breeders' Cup on March 12, which is the final local prep for the Grade 1 Apple Blossom.
NEW ORLEANS - Wooden Phone returns to the races Saturday for the first time in 17 months as the probable favorite in the feature race at Fair Grounds, an optional claiming race at six furlongs on the main track.
, a multiple graded stakes winner who has been sidelined since August 2003, has been fine-tuned for his return by trainer Bret Calhoun with a series of works, climaxing with a stamina-building six-furlong breeze last Monday.
"The horse is all business," said Calhoun. "He's been training real good."
NEW ORLEANS - Trainer Mark Frostad looked like the fisherman who waited patiently all day before landing a big one Thursday, after Parasail gave him his first victory of the Fair Grounds meet in the feature race, a 7 1/2-furlong turf optional claimer.
"Hey, it's what we do," he said. "You kind of bide your time and eventually something good happens."
PHOENIX - When trainer Dan McFarlane looked at the entries for Sunday's $40,000 Rattlesnake Stakes at Turf Paradise, he had to be relieved not to see the name Lost in the Fog. His talented 3-year-old Lead for Speed will try a mile for the first time and take on nine others Sunday, when he attempts to rebound from a lopsided defeat to Lost in the Fog, one of the most exciting 2-year-olds of 2004.
Owner-trainer Barbara Conner raises and trains many of her racehorses at her farm in Tennessee and ships them to Kentucky to race. That much people know about her.
What many don't realize is her background. Conner, 63, was a nun for 17 years before leaving the Catholic Church and pursuing a career in health care and horse racing.
PORTLAND, Ore. - My Friend Dave and Mt. Vista, who finished first and second in a similar event on Jan. 2, will be rematched in Sunday's featured race at Portland Meadows. The invitational handicap for older routers has drawn a field of eight to vie at 1 1/16 miles.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Bay Meadows will offer four graded stakes during its spring meeting, including a new stakes, the Grade 3, $125,000 Stanford Breeders' Cup Handicap on March 19. A total of 15 stakes worth $1,225,000 will be offered during the 71-day meet, which begins Feb. 2.
ALBANY, Calif. - Milestones have become almost second nature to Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze: 5,000, 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 wins have been surpassed. Legendary riders have been left in his wake.
As he has moved up through the top 10 winningest jockeys of all time, the ever-humble Baze has maintained his perspective, sharing the spotlight with those he has passed and others he is about to pass.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The California turf marathon division, which has lacked depth in recent seasons, may be on the verge of a revival.
Saturday's $150,000 over 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita brings together a field of eight, including the exciting Brazilian import License to Run, who made his American debut with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup last month.
The race was License to Run's first start since May, and it may have been the launch of a promising career in major turf stakes in this country.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Something very unusual happened to Cologny when she closed out her 2004 campaign in Aqueduct's Garland of Roses Handicap. She did not make the lead.
finished a tiring sixth as the 6-5 favorite after chasing Forest Music's wickedly fast pace. It marked the first time Cologny had not been in front at some point of a race since Nov. 2003, a span of 17 races.
