SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. reported that Skippylongstocking seems none the worse for wear following his very disappointing performance last Friday when virtually eased to the wire nearly 40 lengths behind winner Banishing in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.
“He got pressured early and went quick on the lead for that track and came out of the race with a good case of the thumps, but neither should cause him to run a race like that,” Joseph said.
Three factors contributed to Coppola being supplemented to Saturday’s Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar, the veteran runner’s first appearance in California.
“It’s five-eighths, firm turf, and the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Dale Romans said on Monday morning.
The $150,000 Green Flash at five furlongs is the leading turf sprint of the Del Mar summer meeting. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at five furlongs on Nov. 1.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A turf marathon at 1 3/8 miles may seem a difficult place for a comeback after a layoff of nearly seven months. But for the 5-year-old Truly Quality the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at that distance on Saturday is an ideal way to resume a career that includes three stakes wins at longer distances on grass, trainer Jonathan Thomas said over the weekend.
“I’m more comfortable running him long off a layoff than short,” Thomas said. “A mile and three-eighths is the shortest he wants to run.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Bob Baffert, who won Saturday’s Grade 1 Ballerina with Hope Road, will seek another Saratoga Grade 1 victory when he sends Buetane cross-country for a start in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 1.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Two horses whose stock continues to rise in the national sprint division, Book’em Danno and Patch Adams, enhanced their status even further after becoming Grade 1 winners for the second time with victories in the Forego and H. Allen Jerkens stakes, respectively, on Saturday’s Travers undercard at Saratoga.
DEL MAR, Calif. – August has been a unique month for Southern California-based trainer Mark Glatt, with a remote chance to squeeze in a career milestone next weekend.
On Aug. 17, Glatt was inducted into the Washington state racing hall of fame. Glatt, 52, began his training career in the 1990s in Washington, his home state.
On Saturday at Del Mar, the Glatt-trained Dr. Venkman won for the first time in nearly 13 months in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There was a time when trainer Kenny McPeek was thinking of pointing Thorpedo Anna to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
After watching Sovereignty win the Travers in the manner in which he did – and combined with the résumé Sovereignty has put together, McPeek seems content to point Thorpedo Anna, the reigning Horse of the Year, to a repeat try in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Having asserted his dominance yet again in the 3-year-old division with his 10-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes, Sovereignty will next attempt to tackle what seemingly is a deep roster of older dirt males in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
A short field featuring an overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course cost the New York Racing Association dearly in handle, with betting on the Travers falling 47.5 percent compared to last year’s race, according to charts of the races.
Handle on the Travers itself, including all multi-race bets ending in the race, was $9.6 million, according to the charts, well below last year’s total of $18.3 million.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A sharp workout by Journalism on Saturday at Del Mar moved the 3-year-old closer to a start against older in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 30, though the colt’s connections stopped short of making it official.
Journalism worked five furlongs in 1:00 under jockey Umberto Rispoli, a 6:30 a.m. workout in company with Michael McCarthy-trained stablemate Phosphorescence.
