ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Labatt Woodbine Oaks winner Too Late Now will take to the turf Sunday at Woodbine in the $149,375 Ontario Colleen Handicap for 3-year-old fillies.
Too Late Now, an obscurely bred daughter of Raj Waki, won the first four starts of her career this spring. She tracked the pace en route to a decisive score in the Grade 1 Selene Stakes on May 19, and led throughout the $500,000 Oaks on June 8.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Devilastro goes for his third straight win in the feature race at Hastings, a $35,000 optional sprint for 3-year-olds and up that drew nine horses.
Devilastro, who is trained by Dino Condilenios, has been a gem of consistency for his owner, Cavalli Meadows. Dating back to last August, the 6-year-old gelding has finished first or second in his last eight starts. He was an easy winner for $25,000 July 26, and while he's facing a significantly tougher group of horses Sunday, he could be up to the task at hand.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Kudos, the winner of the Californian Stakes in June, has been withdrawn from Sunday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar after suffering a tendon injury during training on Thursday, trainer Richard Mandella said.
The injury was detected on Friday morning, a day after Kudos worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds.
"There will be no Pacific Classic for us," Mandella said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Nick Zito rode the roller coaster of emotions Friday.
At 6:15 a.m., Zito was delighted after watching Birdstone, his impressive 2-year-old maiden winner, drill five furlongs in 1:00.02 over Saratoga's main track in preparation for next Saturday's Grade 1, $200,000 Hopeful Stakes.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though he lost out on the chance to win Saturday's $1 million Travers, jockey Jose Santos earned a pretty nice consolation prize Friday, by guiding Passing Shot to a stunning upset of 1-5 favorite Wild Spirit in the Grade 1, $400,000 at Saratoga.
Santos helped Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens add to his reputation as the "Giant Killer" for pulling off so many improbable upsets. Passing Shot, who had never before won a stakes, was 11-1 and returned $24.60.
The Lone Star Park backstretch has been quiet since the meet ended July 13, but that will end Monday. The pitter-patter of yearling feet will fill the barn area as the track will host the Fasig-Tipton summer yearling sale.
There have been 310 yearlings cataloged to the one-day auction sponsored by the Texas Thoroughbred Association. The sale, to be held in a pavilion on the backstretch, begins at 10 a.m. Central.
Vals Fortune, who set a track record at Louisiana Downs last Sunday winning his seventh consecutive race in the $216,500 Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association Sales Futurity, will earn a $500,000 bonus if he can capture the LQHBA Futurity at the track Oct. 19.
Trials for that race are Oct. 1.
Vals Fortune has now won the first two legs of the bonus series, with his other score coming in the Mardi Gras Futurity at Fair Grounds in March.
Eagle Lake, who won the Grade 3, $200,000 WinStar Distaff in May, has been on vacation and is being pointed for a comeback in October at Retama.
"We eased up on her, and will look at a fall campaign," said Cole Norman, who trains Eagle Lake for Turf Express.
Norman said his goal is to bring Eagle Lake back for Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Night at Retama on Oct. 4. Last year, Eagle Lake won the Fiesta Mile during the stakes-filled program that is restricted to horses bred in Texas.
Overall, she has won 12 races and $438,423.
Trainer Paul Murphy ships to win. His biggest success was Spellbound, who in 1986 traveled to California and won a division of the Grade 1 Hollywood Park Derby at 87-1. His latest is Golden Rhythm, who picked up her second straight stakes win last Saturday in the $50,000 Sangue at Louisiana Downs.
Murphy is based at Squaw Creek Downs, a training center in Fort Worth, Texas, that is the former Trinity Meadows. He operates a high-percentage stable, shipping into the major tracks in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Carl Nafzger estimates that it has been eight or 10 years since he last missed a summer of racing at Saratoga. One of the primary reasons for staying home in Louisville this year, said Nafzger, was "because I felt we didn't have enough Grade 1 or Grade 2 horses to justify making the trip."
