ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Leading trainer Mark Casse has been red-hot at Woodbine, and he will be well represented in stakes here in the coming weeks and at the Breeders’ Cup in November at Keeneland.
Casse has a host of Breeders’ Cup runners coming out of Woodbine, most notably Gretzky the Great for the Juvenile Turf, March to the Arch for the Mile, and War of Will for the Dirt Mile.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The $13 million stakes schedule for the upcoming 2020-21 Gulfstream Park Championship meet has been released, with the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, and $800,000 Florida Derby topping the list of 75 stakes to be offered during the course of the session that begins Dec. 2.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Sharing, winner of the Grade 2 Edgewood Stakes on Sept. 4, will not make Saturday’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland due to a foot issue, said Aron Wellman, head of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns the filly with Gainesway Stable.
“We’ve been battling foot issues with her all year,” Wellman said. “She’s on the cusp of being ready for the Queen Elizabeth, but she couldn’t make it. The timing came up a little too quick. Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – While Beldame Stakes winner Horologist is unlikely to be supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Beldame runner-up Point of Honor is likely to run in that race on Nov. 7 at Keeneland, Aron Wellman, head of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns the filly, said Monday.
Her presence would give Eclipse a 1-2 punch in the Distaff as it also has Valiance, winner of Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Dayoutoftheoffice will make her first start since impressively winning the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga in July when she runs in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette Stakes, trainer Tim Hamm confirmed Monday.
Dayoutoftheoffice was off the work tab for about a month in mid-summer, but Hamm said that was by design.
“She had no major issues,” Hamm said. “We decided to give her a little breather and have her fresh for the end of the year and make a run at the Breeders’ Cup.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – After missing three weeks of riding due to suspensions and a case of COVID-19, two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is looking forward to getting back to work this week at Belmont Park.
Ortiz is named to ride in eight of the 10 races Thursday at Belmont, marking his first mounts since Sept. 16, when he rode at Kentucky Downs. Ortiz served two five-day suspensions encompassing the first 10 days of the Belmont fall meet for careless riding infractions incurred earlier this summer.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, who finished third in the Grade 1 Spinster on Sunday at Keeneland in her first try against older horses, will pass on the Breeders’ Cup in favor of arriving at Oaklawn Park as a fresh horse for a winter-spring campaign.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Luis Saez enjoyed a stellar opening weekend at Keeneland, winning nine races, including a Grade 1 stakes each day.
Saez, whose agent is former trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, kicked things off by winning a pair of races Friday, including the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes with Simply Ravishing. His three wins on Saturday included the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity aboard Essential Quality and the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes on Leinster.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Empire of Gold, a 3-year-old making his graded stakes debut against older horses, was dismissed at 51-1 in the Grade 2 Phoenix Stakes on opening day at Keeneland. After a strong runner-up effort, he is likely to be a much shorter price when he returns to Lexington next month.
Trainer Terry Eoff said he plans to bring Empire of Gold, who is based at Remington Park, back to Keeneland for the $100,000 Perryville against his fellow 3-year-old sprinters on the Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard on Nov. 7.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was a big weekend for fillies trained by Ken McPeek. Swiss Skydiver will return to Kentucky a conquering heroine after outdueling Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. Back home, her two young understudies held down the ropes, as Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful swept the exacta in the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes on Friday at Keeneland.
Simply Ravishing earned an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with the victory, and Crazy Beautiful is likely to join her in the starting gate.
