ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The plots for the Queen's Plate and Labatt Woodbine Oaks began to develop in earnest here last weekend with the runnings of the Queenston and Fury stakes.
The Queenston and Fury, seven-furlong races for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, respectively showcased some of the leading candidates for the 1 1/4-mile Plate here on June 27 and the 1 1/8-mile Oaks on June 13.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wednesday night racing at Woodbine is often conducted over a speed-favoring track, and last Wednesday was certainly no exception, as all seven winners on the card prevailed on the front end.
If a speed bias surfaces again this Wednesday, then One for Katie and Attiki should have an edge in the featured seventh race, a $25,000 optional claimer for fillies and mares who are nonwinners of three lifetime.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Wesley Ward was eager to run Bear Fan in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, but a quarter crack forced him to scratch the mare. Ward's disappointment of missing that race was eased Sunday, when Bear Fan won the Grade 2 Genuine Risk Handicap at Belmont Park.
ALTOONA, Iowa - Only at Night ($7.20) controlled the pace and held on for a three-quarter-length win in the $60,000 Mamie Eisenhower Stakes for Iowa-bred fillies and mares.
Only at Night was timed in 1:09.79 for the six furlongs, and held off a late rally by 2003 Iowa-bred horse of the year Sharky's Review. It was another 7 1/2 lengths back to One Fine Shweetie in third.
A pair of stakes-winning sprinters, one based in Ohio and the other in Maryland, are the leading contenders in Tuesday night's $75,000 Hancock County Handicap, the first stakes of the season for fillies and mares at Mountaineer Race Track.
Gabrieles Princess, coming off a victory over statebreds at Thistledown in her season debut, and Search for a Cure, 2 for 2 in dirt races at five or 5 1/2 furlongs, appear to be the most formidable threats in the five-furlong Hancock.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The showdown between Adoration and Star Parade in Sunday's $250,000 at Hollywood Park turned into a setup for Victory Encounter.
While Adoration and Star Parade dueled through a quick pace, Victory Encounter lagged at the back of the four-horse field. She launched a rally under Alex Solis in the final quarter-mile, snuck through along the inside to reach contention in mid-stretch and pulled away to win by 2 1/2 lengths.
Victory Encounter ($16.60) finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.28; the Vanity marked her first Grade 1 win.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Rhythm Mad was an unlucky second in the $250,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita on April 18. Saturday, with a bigger purse at stake in the $350,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap at Hollywood Park, good fortune was on his side.
Rallying from fourth in the final half-mile, Rhythm Mad ran down a stubborn Continental Red to win by a neck. Sent off as the favorite, Rhythm Mad ($5.40) ran 1 1-2 miles on turf in 2:26.73.
"This was a smaller field and it was easier to stay out of traffic," trainer Bruce Headley said.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Beau's Town, in his first start in blinkers, set a new track record for six furlongs at Lone Star Park on Saturday when he won the $75,000 Ford Express in 1:07.89. Lone Star is the site of this year's Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, and the Sprint is the longterm goal for Beau's Town.
The previous track record for six furlongs was 1:08, set by Triple Card on May 28, 2001.
BALTIMORE - Veteran jockey Rick Wilson was critically injured Saturday at Pimlico Race Course when his mount in the day's second race, Advance to Go, stumbled badly at the start, then inadvertently struck Wilson in the head after the jockey was dislodged.
Wilson was taken by emergency helicopter to the University of Maryland's Shock-Trauma Center in downtown Baltimore, where his condition Saturday night was listed as critical.
Dr. Harry Harris, the medical director at Pimlico, said Wilson was treated for head and cervical trauma and suffered a significant loss of blood.
