Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Stallion Series bonus chase begins

NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Pa Pa Da, here winning his maiden race on the Belmont turf, will take on eight opponents in the Great White Way, including West Virginia.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Pa Pa Da, coming off a runner-up finish in the Sleepy Hollow on New York Showcase Day, and West Virginia, a runaway winner of a maiden race, are the headline names in Sunday's $125,000 Great White Way at Aqueduct.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Golden Marlin class of field

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The richest race on any given program at Churchill Downs normally is carded late in the day, but when the scheduled feature attracted just six fillies and mares, the race became the fourth of 10 so that more attractive betting races could be slotted for the prime spots.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Stakes duelers get a rematch

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Dream About and Silver Bird, who dueled each other into submission on the front end in the 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth Stakes, will clash again at seven furlongs in Sunday's $136,875 Glorious Song Stakes at Woodbine.

Dream About was the leader of the local 2-year-old filly division after her decisive triumph Sept. 20 in the Grade 2 Mazarine Breeders' Cup Stakes. But she could manage only a distant fourth-place finish in the Oct. 12 Princess Elizabeth, which was won by My Vintage Port in a slow final time of 1:48.80.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Mandella's resume lacks this

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Richard Mandella enters the Sunday card at Santa Anita with an incomplete resume. Oh sure, Mandella won four Breeders' Cup races two weeks ago, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2001.

But in an oversight to a training career that spans nearly 30 years, Mandella has never won the Avigaition Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares that is the closing-day feature at Oak Tree. With a $70,000 purse, the race pales compared to the $4.5 million that Mandella runners earned on Breeders' Cup Day.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Riders file suit over logos worn in Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Thirteen of the jockeys who wore a Jockeys' Guild patch on their pants during the Kentucky Derby last May have filed a lawsuit requesting that a stewards' ruling against them be overturned and that the Kentucky Racing Commission regulation that governs advertising on jockeys' clothing be declared an unconstitutional implementation of the state's regulatory powers.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Ema Bovary back from layoff

ALBANY, Calif. - Ema Bovary, who hasn't raced since winning the Washington State Legislators Handicap at Emerald Downs on May 25, will return in the $60,000-added Camilla Urso Handicap against eight rivals.

Northern California's top sprinter, Lacie Girl, will pass because the Camilla Urso comes too quickly after her narrow loss in the $107,000 Very Subtle Handicap on the Breeders' Cup card. Lacie Girl's 3-year-old stablemates, Christmas Time and Just Bill Me, will run, however.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Brennan stable after heart attack

Trainer Terry Brennan had a slight heart attack during training hours Thursday at Louisiana Downs, and was recuperating at a Bossier City, La., hospital on Friday. He may be released as early as Saturday, said his wife, Loretta Brennan.

"He's doing well," she said. "He's in good spirits."

Brennan, 53, was watching his stable train on Thursday when he began having some chest pains and drove himself to a nearby hospital, according to Loretta Brennan. He was to undergo an angioplasty on Friday.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Injury likely ends Sky Jack's career

ARCADIA, Calif. - Sky Jack, the winner of the 2000 California Cup Classic and 2002 Hollywood Gold Cup, will likely be retired after filling was detected in his right knee on Friday morning, a day before he was scheduled to start in the California Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

Trainer Doug O'Neill spoke to owners Rene and Margie Lambert on Friday and said it was unlikely that the 7-year-old Sky Jack, a gelding, will return to racing.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Almuhathir enters stakes debut hot

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After four good races at Belmont Park, Almuhathir will try to carry his form to Aqueduct in Tuesday's $100,000 Stuyvesant Handicap.

Almuhathir, a 5-year-old owned by Shadwell Stable, is scheduled to make his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Stuyvesant at 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

The majority of Almuhathir's races have been on the turf, but he is better on the dirt. Three of his five career victories have come on dirt and he has twice earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure this year on dirt.

Fri, 11/07/2003 - 00:00

Rare dud by Nicole's Dream seen as a fluke

CHICAGO - A few strides into Clark County Handicap on Oct. 16 at Keeneland, jockey E.T. Baird sensed Nicole's Dream was out of her comfort zone. Nicole's Dream stayed in contention, just behind a blistering pace, for three furlongs, but Baird was right. She quickly faded in the stretch run and wound up eighth, her worst performance in an excellent season.