Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Rockport Harbor's first big test

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Rockport Harbor wins the Grade 3 Nashua on Nov. 2 by 6 1/4 lengths. Trainer John Servis has decided to run Rockport Harbor back in Saturday's Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Rockport Harbor may have accomplished more by this point than Smarty Jones did, but trainer John Servis said Rockport Harbor, an unbeaten 2-year-old, still has some lessons to learn before reaching the heights of his dual-classic winner.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Old rookie flashes plenty of promise

CHICAGO - Call Restless Mon a nontraditional student. He is older by years than most of his peers, but his education has just begun.

makes the second start of his career Friday at Hawthorne, about a month before he turns 5. His race, the eighth, is one of three entry-level allowances on Hawthorne's 10-race program. All three are routes, but the other two are for 2-year-olds, many of whom are far more seasoned than Restless Mon.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Oval undergoes overhaul

PORTLAND, Ore. - There was a steady diet of five-furlong races at Portland Meadows on Saturday and Monday, but at least there were full slates. Last Friday night, only three races were run.

The jockeys declined to ride after last Friday's third race, citing unsafe track conditions. To be more specific, the riders felt the surface was uneven. It got to be uneven, by most accounts, because of a procedure that was performed earlier in the week.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Apprentice jockey injured in spill

ALBANY, Calif. - Apprentice jockey Kate Repp was taken to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley with a concussion and possible rib injuries after Wild Irish Dreams clipped heels with Pia's Courage inside the 16th pole in Wednesday's fifth race at Golden Gate Fields.

As Wild Irish Dream tried to get up from the spill, she was broadsided by Sexy Splasher causing jockey Pedro Mercado to fall. Mercado rolled under the inside safety rail and walked off the track.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

'Leroi' gets ready for his close-up

Benoit & Associates
When all eyes were on the Breeders' Cup, Leroidesanimaux was winning the Morvich.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Leroidesanimaux has won graded stakes on racing's biggest days this year - just in the wrong town.

When the nation's focus was on the Kentucky Derby on May 1, Leroidesanimaux won the Grade 3 Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park. On Oct. 30, Breeders' Cup Day, Leroidesanimaux was the star at Santa Anita, winning the Grade 3 Morvich Handicap.

Saturday at Hollywood Park, on a day when California will be firmly in the national spotlight, Leroidesanimaux makes his first start in an American Grade 1 in the $400,000 Citation Handicap.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Peterson death accidental, police say

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The death of trainer Doug Peterson on Sunday was caused by an accidental drug overdose, according to an investigator with the Los Angles Police Department.

Peterson was found dead in his room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Sunday evening. He had last been seen at Hollywood Park on Saturday afternoon, when he started El Prado in Action, who finished sixth in the fifth race.

According to Mike DiPasquale of the LAPD's Pacific Division, the drugs that caused Peterson's death will not be known until toxicology tests are completed.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Keeneland renovating

The Keeneland Association's sales pavilion, built in 1969, will undergo renovation and expansion, the auction house announced Wednesday.

The work, which has already begun, should be complete in August 2005. The construction will be done in three phases to accommodate the 2005 auctions.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Anthony J. might try hitting jackpot

MIAMI - After finishing a fast-closing second behind the speedy B.B. Best in the In Reality Stakes here last month, and with B.B. Best headed to Kentucky this weekend for the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Anthony J. will be one of the favorites if he starts in the What a Pleasure Stakes at Calder on Dec. 4.

But trainer Bill Perry is thinking about greener pastures, as in dollar bills, for his stretch-running 2-year-old, who is also being considered for the $1 million Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs. The Delta Jackpot is also run on Dec. 4.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Ocean Runaway has title shot

Ocean Runaway, winner of the Golden State Million, will be after a spot in his second straight $1 million futurity when he starts in the eighth of 12 trials to the Grade 1, $1,508,650 Los Alamitos Million on Friday night at Los Alamitos. The horses with the 10 fastest times from the 98 juveniles entered in the 400-yard trials will qualify for the Dec. 10 finals.

Wed, 11/24/2004 - 00:00

Macs Gonzo goes for stakes victory

Macs Gonzo is well placed to gain his first stakes victory in the Grade 3, $87,100 AQRA Turf Paradise Futurity on Sunday.

Macs Gonzo won his trial by two lengths with the second-fastest qualifying time of 20.25 seconds for the 400 yards. He was second by a nose in the Grade 3 Prescott Valley Futurity and third in the Pomona Juvenile Championship.

Fastest-qualifier honors went to Quick Dokie, a trial winner in 20.20 seconds.