PORTLAND, Ore. - Yesss will carries highweight of 123 pounds, including regular rider Twyla Beckner, when he takes on six intrepid challengers in the $10,000 William Kyne Handicap at nine furlongs on Saturday.
Yesss, a 6-year-old son of Abstract who races for Shirley Webb, has won six stakes at Portland Meadows, including the last two runnings of the Kyne. He is coming off a sharp win over Lethal Grande in the six-furlong Oregon Sprint Championship on Oregon-bred Day, Dec. 13.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - When a minor injury forced Sir Cherokee to withdraw from last year's Kentucky Derby just two days before the race, it was heartbreaking for all connected with the colt. But fast-forward nine months and disappointment has been replaced by optimism.
For Fair Grounds 3-year-olds with Triple Crown aspirations, the season starts in earnest Saturday with the Grade 3, $100,000 Lecomte Stakes. Kind of.
Saintly Look, Easyfromthegitgo, and Sam Lord's Castle won the last three Lecomtes, and you will not find those names etched in Kentucky Derby lore. At one mile, and with a short stretch run, the Lecomte is more a launchpad for horses with Louisiana Derby aspirations than a true Kentucky Derby prep race.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - There are just two questions surrounding Wildcat Shoes in Saturday's $50,000 Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Can he duplicate his last start? And does he need to in order to win the six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds?
Wildcat Shoes has won his last three starts and should be a strong favorite in the Mountain Valley on the heels of his spectacular win last out in the $60,000 Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds. He covered six furlongs in 1:09.60, earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Thunder Blitz, winner of the Grade 3 Queens County Handicap in December, suffered a crack in the sesamoid bone of his left foreleg and will be sidelined indefinitely.
Thunder Blitz left trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.'s Aqueduct barn earlier this week and will be given time off at owner Frank Stronach's Adena Springs South farm in Ocala, Fla. His connections hope they can get him back to the races later this year.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Speed is the name of the game in Saturday's $75,000 Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct. Harnessing that speed is likely the key to victory in a competitive 96th running of the six-furlong sprint.
, the pacesetting runner-up of the 2002 Gravesend Handicap over this track, head the list of speed signed up for the Paumonok. Toss in Don Six - who has run the fastest six furlongs at this meet - Spooky Mulder, and Sunray Spirit to the mix and the race would appear ripe for a closer.
PHOENIX - Toast for Mr. Expo will dive into the deep end of the pool in Saturday's $40,000 Swift Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward who have started at the Turf Paradise meet. A 5 1/2-furlong event, the Swift Stakes has lured a field of eight, including many of the old guard in the local sprint division.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - New Mexico-bred 3-year-old fillies get their first shot at a stakes this meet in Saturday's $125,000-added La Senora Handicap at six furlongs. While Rocky Gulch has proven best in the male statebred category, the fillies have yet to sort themselves out.
Icy Lane has shown in just two career starts that she has the potential to be the real thing. Despite showing signs of immaturity, she drew off by 11 1/2 lengths in her debut here Dec. 16.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Millionaire Burning Roma will makes his 2004 debut as the probable favorite in Saturday's $60,000 Super Stakes, Now 6, Burning Roma retains a zest for competition and an eagerness to train, much as he did while preparing for the Tampa Bay Derby here in 2001, according to his trainer, Heather Giglio.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The handicap ranks at Portland Meadows has grown awfully thin.
Zip the Bright, the winner of the one-mile Thanksgiving Handicap here Nov. 28, has been turned out until spring, as has third-place finisher Slewicide Cruise. Runner-up Lethal Grande, who won the Inaugural Handicap earlier in the meet, was sent to Golden Gate. And Cee Cruiser, who captured the Oregon His Stakes here on Oregon-bred Day, Dec. 13, is preparing for his first start at Turf Paradise.