ELMONT, N.Y. - If there is moisture in the inner turf course Saturday for the $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park, Wonder Again will be the primary beneficiary in the nine-horse field.
Heavy rain during the week knocked out turf racing on Wednesday and Thursday, but the course should dry out some before the Flower Bowl, with sunny skies forecast for Friday and Saturday. Even on a firm course, should be tough to handle in the 1 1/4-mile race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Society Selection, winner of the Test and Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, worked seven furlongs in 1:25.36 Thursday morning over the Belmont main track. Society Selection is preparing for a start in the $750,000 Beldame on Oct. 9.
The Beldame will be Society Selection's first start against older fillies and mares. She is expected to take on Sightseek and Storm Flag Flying in that race.
"You have to do it sooner or later," trainer Allen Jerkens said about running against older horses. "It's the only game they have left."
CHICAGO - The wheel has made a full revolution, and Perfect Drift is back in the Hawthorne Gold Cup. He runs like one of the best horses in the country, and has earned more than a half-million dollars this year, but Perfect Drift has been shut out in seven starts since an easy score in the 2003 Gold Cup. His trainer, Murray Johnson, is just as cold, with no wins from 62 starters this year.
ANDERSON, Ind. - The $500,000-added Indiana Derby, which will be run as a Grade 2 for the first time Saturday, continues to build upon its success and has six graded stakes winners among its nine entrants.
Sir Shackleton and Pollard's Vision are the top contenders, but this 1 1/16-mile race has produced its share of surprises during its first nine runnings, a fact that should not be ignored by handicappers. Only one favorite, Forty One Carats at 5-2 in 1999, has won the Indiana Derby.
The road to the Breeders' Cup Distaff rarely includes a pit stop at Philadelphia Park. But trainer Todd Pletcher has chosen to take that route with his multiple Grade 1-winning 3-year-old filly Ashado.
Ashado will be the 124-pound highweight and heavy favorite in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Cotillion, a 1 1/16-mile race that will serve as her prep for the Oct. 30 BC Distaff at Lone Star Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. - To start in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30, Katdogawn would need to be supplemented for $90,000. Although the fee is steep, Katdogawn can finance the investment with a victory in Saturday's $500,000 at Santa Anita.
The field of 10 includes several Breeders' Cup hopefuls, as well as a few South American-bred mares unlikely to try the Breeders' Cup even if they win on Saturday.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Sweet Catomine scored her maiden win in a Grade 1 stakes, the Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 28. Splendid Blended won her debut by five lengths in a one-mile maiden race at Del Mar on Sept. 6.
The two fillies may have scored their first wins in different kinds of races, but they are on the same path this fall. are top contenders in a nine-horse field for Saturday's $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita. The Grade 2 Oak Leaf, run at 1 1/16 miles, is a prep to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Stung by a 20-day suspension he received earlier this week from Italian racing officials, jockey Gary Stevens has appealed the decision to an Italian court, enabling him to continue riding.
The suspension was levied in May, when Stevens refused to ride an unruly horse at Capannelle racecourse in Rome. Stevens appealed the decision but was informed earlier this week that the appeal was denied.
