ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Slew Valley made an auspicious local debut in last Sunday's Connaught Cup.
But after watching Slew Valley win while covering the 1 1/16 miles on turf in a quick 1:40.24, the horse's trainer, Reade Baker, considered himself lucky.
"He ran super, for a short horse," said Baker. "I think I needed to train him a lot harder than I did; he's a huge horse. He was exhausted in the winner's circle, and was still exhausted the next morning."
AUBURN, Wash. - If Northwest Attitude were in school, he would have spent most of the last year in remedial classes.
"He was just a very slow-learning horse," said trainer Rick Terry. "I thought he was dyslexic or something. It just didn't seem like he was ever going to get it."
AUBURN, Wash. - Winitall returns from a lengthy vacation to take on six other older sprinters in Thursday's Emerald Downs feature, a six-furlong affair for $10,000 claimers.
Winitall, a 9-year-old son of Regal Classic from the barn of trainer Dan Markle, was competitive with much better when last seen here in 2002. He won 3 of 6 starts at Emerald Downs that year, defeating $25,000 claimers at six furlongs, then twice beating $50,000 optional claiming company at a mile. Winitall has not raced since January of 2003, however, and his condition is difficult to gauge.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - For the first time on Monday, Mike Smith watched Azeri go to the starting gate without him when the mare ran in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Azeri, whom Smith rode to the 2002 Horse of the Year and older female championships and the 2003 older female championship, was ridden by Pat Day to a seventh-place finish in the Met Mile.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Injury and mishap have interrupted the career of Tangle, who has placed in three stakes in her six-race career.
In April 2003, Tangle finished second in the Appalachian Stakes but emerged with a hairline fracture of a cannon bone that required a lengthy layoff, according to owner Paul Reddam.
In February, Tangle finished third in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes, but she was laid up through late winter and early spring after becoming cast in her stall a few weeks after that race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer John T. Ward Jr. is someone who can poke fun at himself when things aren't proceeding exactly to plan. From his first 41 starters this year, Ward had won just three times, prompting a self-deprecating comment about "getting my percentages up" when reached by phone recently.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Tens of thousands of people in the Louisville metropolitan area will forever remember what they were doing on the afternoon of Sunday, May 30, and not necessarily because of anything good that happened.
Tornados and very strong winds pummeled the city and its outlying areas. The natural calamity inconvenienced racing fans by forcing the first partial cancellation of Churchill racing in nearly 14 years, but more importantly, it wreaked far greater havoc on the public at large, causing millions of dollars in property damage and at least one death.
CHICAGO - On the Course has handled about everything they've thrown at him so far. Two racing surfaces, three different racetracks - he has been there and done that. The only stumble so far was a much-better-than-average second-level allowance race April 3 at Keeneland. Even then On the Course finished a good third, and he easily cleared that allowance condition in his next race, this time at Hawthorne.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Something is going to have to give in Thursday's seven-furlong optional claiming headliner at Louisiana Downs. Half of the field is turning back to one turn after unsuccessfully trying to carry their speed going a route, while the other half must deal with some additional real estate after racing at shorter sprint distances.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - No Place Like It picked up his third win of the Lone Star Park meet when he ran down pacesetter Silent Picture to win the $200,000 Pin Oak Stud USA Stakes. The 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds was one of seven stakes that made up the track's annual Lone Star Million Day. All together, the stakes were worth $1 million.
