SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Trainer Steve Specht said he was "sweating bullets" seeking a victory in his hometown and accomplished that when Our Mango ($28.40) got a perfect trip along the rail to win the $51,895 Elie Destruel Handicap on closing day Monday at the Sonoma County Fair.
"When Christmas Time scratched and we ended up on the rail, I was a little concerned because my mare has just enough speed that she might have gotten trapped, but she was also on the best part of the track," Specht said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The themes of family, loyalty, and perseverance permeated the Humphrey S. Finney sales pavilion on Monday morning, as six inductees, including trainer Shug McGaughey and jockey Kent Desormeaux, took their place in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
The other inductees were the great black jockey Jimmy Winkfield, the mares Bowl of Flowers and Flawlessly, and Skip Away, the 1998 Horse of the Year.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Now that Roses in May has established himself as a major contender in the handicap division, trainer Dale Romans has some decisions to make. And he's in no hurry to make them.
Roses in May joined the handicap elite with a gritty nose victory over Perfect Drift in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap. He is now 4 for 4 this year and 6 for 9 lifetime.
"I think it's one of the prestigious races of the year. He won it, it wasn't a gift. He had to run game, run hard the whole way to get it," Romans said. "I think that makes him a contender."
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The inaugural running of the $65,000 De La Rose Stakes drew such an overwhelming response from horsemen that the racing office felt compelled to split Wednesday's feature at Saratoga into two divisions.
Each division of the one-mile turf race for fillies and mares drew the maximum 10 runners with a couple of main-track only entrants in the event that rain forces the race to be moved to the main track and run at nine furlongs.
DEL MAR, Calif. - After Etoile Montante won her 2004 debut in the Las Cienegas Handicap at Santa Anita in April, trainer Bobby Frankel bypassed the Hollywood Park meeting and sent her east, where she was beaten in stakes at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park.
Wednesday, makes her second California start of the year in the $75,000 Osunitas Handicap at Del Mar.
Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Etoile Montante starts as the 123-pound topweight and is the most accomplished filly or mare in the field of nine. The race is run over 1 1/16 miles on turf.
Artie Schiller was trapped in traffic, had to wait for a horse to clear him on the turn, and then swing out for room. He was just giving his rivals a head start. Unleashing a wicked turn of foot after turning into the stretch, Artie Schiller roared past his rivals Monday to post a 4 1/4-length victory in the $150,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Handicap at Saratoga.
Monmouth Park moved another step closer to become host of the 2007 Breeders' Cup with the signing of a memorandum of understanding among the parties. Officials from Breeders' Cup Limited, the state of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns Monmouth, signed the document Sunday.
"It indicates that we have agreed on the major points that will now be incorporated with some finer points into a full-blown contract," said D.G. Van Clief Jr., the president of the Breeders' Cup.
Los Alamitos will offer three futurities for Quarter Horses worth $1 million or more in 2005 - the Ed Burke Memorial, Golden State, and Los Alamitos Million - and a bonus of $1 million to a horse who sweeps the series.
The $1 million Ed Burke will be held in mid-June, the $1 million Golden State in late fall, and the Million, worth an estimated $1.6 million, will be in December. This year, the Ed Burke was worth $418,000.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Bob Baffert took control of California's 2-year-old division at Del Mar over the weekend, winning with two fillies and a colt expected to play a major role in upcoming stakes.
Saturday, Baffert won the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes for fillies with Inspiring and a maiden special weight race with the promising colt Fusaichi Rock Star. Sunday, the filly Excessively Nice scored a sharp maiden win in her debut over 6 1/2 furlongs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Lion Heart and Purge found Smarty Jones an insurmountable foe the first half of the year. Now that Smarty Jones is out of the way, having been retired, his former rivals are on a collision course for the 3-year-old division's second-half leadership.
