VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Lasting Code, who has won four of five starts at 6 1/2 furlongs, figures to be a solid choice over nine other fillies and mares in the 6 1/2-furlong Cover Girl at Hastings Sunday. The $40,000 sprint also attracted Elana d'Amour, the 2002 local horse of the year, and Victor's Secret, who also thrives at the distance.
Not only has Lasting Code been dominant at 6 1/2 furlongs, she's also won both of her starts at Hastings, which came in stakes at 2.
River Downs officials are proud that their signature event, the $200,000 Cradle Stakes, is the first noteworthy two-turn race for 2-year-olds each season. Some trainers can hardly wait to see how their horses will handle the extra distance, and this year that includes Patrick Biancone, who has the Cradle favorite, Scipion.
Biancone, who will be in Cincinnati on Monday for the 28th running of the Grade 3 Cradle, said Scipion seems to have such an innate desire for distance that the trainer wanted to run the colt around two turns right away.
Gorylla, last year's winner of Argentina's Group 1 Carlos Pellegrini, will make his U.S. debut in Monday's closing day Tri-State Handicap at Ellis Park, trainer Ken McPeek said Friday.
McPeek calls him the "South American equivalent to John Henry," a comparison based on his achievements and longevity. A 7-year-old son of New Colony, Gorylla has raced 34 times, winning eight races, including two last year while competing in some of Brazil's and Argentina's most prestigious stakes.
The days are dwindling to a precious few for Burning Roma.
A multiple graded stakes winner, heads off to stud at the end of this season, and his trainer, Heather Giglio, figures the 6-year-old has only one or two starts left following Sunday's $60,000 Bob Harding Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Although ungraded, the Harding drew a solid stakes field that includes North East Bound, Foreverness, and Spruce Run for a one-mile run on the turf.
It looks like a competitive race, one that will require a prime effort from Burning Roma.
MIAMI - The chance of Calder resuming its racing schedule Sunday seemed slim at best because of the expected impact of Hurricane Frances - about as slim, perhaps, of the chance that Puck would make it back to the races after sustaining a hairline fracture of the right large pastern during the 2002 Haskell Invitational.
Puck will return to action Sunday, weather permitting, and face nine rivals in the $40,000 Sea Emperor Stakes. The Sea Emperor will be decided under allowance conditions at seven furlongs.
Because the stallion Sunday Silence stands in Japan, his offspring rarely race in North America. In fact, since 1999, only one of Sunday Silence's progeny has won a race in either the United States or Canada.
So it was a rare treat for fans at Delaware Park on Tuesday, when Negotiator, a 3-year-old colt sired by 1989 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sunday Silence, made his first start since joining trainer Graham Motion's barn.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Fierce Cat, second in the Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes in her last race Aug. 15, should go off as the odds-on choice over four other Ohio-bred 2-year-olds in Sunday's $40,000 Loyalty Stakes.
Fierce Cat dueled for the lead all the way in the Kindergarten and was beaten less than one length. He has a win and a second from five starts. Trained by William J. Napier, Fierce Cat will be ridden by Scott Spieth. All starters will carry 117 pounds in the six-furlong race.
COLUMBUS, Neb. - You won't normally find half the members of a field of eight shipping in for a $10,000-added handicap at Columbus.
But that's the case in the 6 1/2-furlong Bill Callihan Handicap, in which five of the eight fillies and mares entered made their last start out of state or at Horsemen's Park in Omaha.
Cherylville Slew has been unstoppable this summer, winning her last three starts, including two stakes. Sunday, she will attempt to extend her streak in the $40,000 Ricks Memorial at Remington Park, and is training like a bear for the task.
"She's coming into it full of run," said C.R. Trout, who trains Cherylville Slew. "She worked a bullet. She worked in 59 [seconds] and change and is just on tilt."
Trainer Billy McKeever cannot decide whether Crowned King is better on dirt or turf, and that is a good dilemma to have in the face of a wavering weather forecast that may move the $50,000 Sport City Handicap from turf to dirt Sunday at Louisiana Downs.
