FORT ERIE, Ontario - There will be no excuses offered by trainer Ralph Biamonte should his 6-year-old mare, Clubay, not win the $40,000 Golden Horseshoe on Sunday at Fort Erie. That is, if the seven-furlong race stays on the turf.
"If it's on grass I'm looking to see [Clubay] run her best race of the year," said Biamonte. "She's geared up.
"She had a maintenance work Sunday at Woodbine. It was an easy half-mile in 49 and small change. She's fit - coming back to seven furlongs."
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Phil Johnson, the Hall of Fame trainer whose career spanned seven decades and included the upset victory by Volponi in the , died Friday morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 78.
Johnson died in his home in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He had undergone a minor surgical procedure Thursday and was preparing to return to Saratoga on Friday when he passed. Johnson was eager to see Port Chester run in Friday's fourth race. Port Chester finished fifth.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - George Mikhalides has trained many stakes winners for Buckram Oak Farm in Europe, but none in this country. Mikhalides, who moved to the United States from France in May 2003, is hoping that changes in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Amsterdam at Saratoga.
Mikhalides trains Classy Migration, the runner-up in the Grade 3 Carry Back at Calder on July 10. Classy Migration is among seven 3-year-olds entered in the Amsterdam, a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 King's Bishop on Aug. 28.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Unbeaten but somewhat lacking in respect, Souvenir Gift will attempt to win her third stakes in Saturday's $150,000 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-olds fillies at Del Mar.
Just like the Cinderella Stakes and the Grade 3 Landaluce Stakes at Hollywood Park, will not be favored in the Grade 3 Sorrento over 6 1/2 furlongs. That role will go to Inspiring, a flashy maiden winner at Hollywood who is trained by Bob Baffert.
Souvenir Gift will be the second choice in the betting, a position that trainer and co-owner Sam Semkin insists does not bother him.
HENDERSON, Ky. - Quite understandably, the collective focus of racing fans in August rests primarily on Saratoga and Del Mar, leaving precious little room for smaller brethren such as Ellis Park.
But for at least a few minutes Saturday, more than a few heads will turn toward the Ellis simulcast signal when this homey track in western Kentucky presents the only graded race of its summer meet, the Grade 3 Gardenia Handicap.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Mark Casse will take two stabs at the $136,750 Seagram Cup Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday, when he sends out The Judge Sez Who and Hydrogen in 1 1/16-mile race for older runners.
Mobil was also entered in the Seagram and will be the favorite if he runs, but he could be scratched in favor of next Saturday's Grade 1 Arlington Million, a race his connections have had in mind for him.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A horseman will go to the ends of the Earth to find their "Big Horse." Terry Finley, the founder and president of West Point Thoroughbreds, found his at a 2-year-olds in training sale in Dubai in the fall of 2002.
On the advice of a friend, Finley attended the sale in Dubai, where he purchased the Argentine-bred Seattle Fitz for the equivalent of $135,000. It has taken a while for Seattle Fitz to acclimate to North America, but in the past eight months he has risen through the ranks of the handicap division.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - So Sweet a Cat was the most accomplished horse in Thursday's $250,000 Statue of Liberty at Saratoga, but she had never been tested beyond seven furlongs.
The crowd of 16,849 made South Wing the 2-1 favorite, but it was So Sweet a Cat who came home an eight-length winner in the Statue of Liberty, for 3-year-old fillies who are the progeny of New York stallions. South Wing, who led the field for six furlongs, finished second. It was another 10 lengths back to Cat's Roar in third in the 11-horse field.
AUBURN, Wash. - A field of seven promising 2-year-olds, including a pair of soft entries, will contest Saturday's $40,000 Strong Ruler Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong race at Emerald Downs.
Trainer Frank Lucarelli will saddle Billy Stark and Indian Weaver, and trainer Craig Roberts will send out Najah and Magna Tice in Saturday's stakes, which is restricted to horses whose sires were nominated in the year of their conception. Neither the Lucarelli nor the Roberts trainees will be coupled in the wagering because of separate ownership.
