SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Todd Pletcher did not bring Chapel Royal to Saturday's $200,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga as much as Chapel Royal brought Pletcher.
Now, Chapel Royal stands on the precipice of getting that all-important Grade 1 win that his connections hoped would come when they plunked down $1.2 million for him back in February.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When John Velazquez guided Classy E. T. to a 3 1/2-length victory in Thursday's seventh race, it was his 55th win of the meet, equaling Saratoga's all-time single meet record for wins by a jockey set by Jerry Bailey in 2001.
Velazquez, 31, is a virtual lock to break the record as he has four racing days remaining.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Even for a stable annually loaded with 2-year-olds, Victory U. S. A. has been a standout for trainer Bob Baffert.
When she won a maiden race by 6 1/2 lengths in her debut on Aug. 3, she quickly drew comparisons to previous Baffert-trained female stakes winners such as Chilukki and Silverbulletday.
Part of that can be credited to the enthusiasm of a well-known and vocal trainer. The proof could arrive as soon as Saturday when Victory U. S. A. starts as a heavy favorite in Saturday's $250,000 Del Mar Debutante for 2-year-old fillies.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Half-brothers Cetewayo and Bowman Mill, both trained by Michael Dickinson, are among the 10 runners in Saturday's $337,200 Niagara Breeders' Cup Handicap, a 1 1/2-mile turf race at Woodbine.
Grade 1 winner Cetewayo, a 9-year-old with more than $1.1 million in earnings, has been well beaten in each of his last two starts and hasn't raced since finishing 10th in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Handicap Feb. 16.
EDMONTON, Alberta - Classa Red Wine, the winner of the only two previous stakes for 2-year-old fillies in Alberta this year, will place her unbeaten streak on the line in the $50,000 Bird of Pay here Saturday afternoon.
Each filly carries 117 pounds in the 6 1/2-furlong Bird of Pay.
Classa Red Wine won the Princess Margaret and the Filly Sale Stakes after winning her maiden for trainer Dale Saunders. Her chief opponent in the field of nine appears to be her uncoupled stablemate Wild Scarlett, who won her maiden in her latest outing.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Perfect Illusion and Proud Son look like the favorites in their respective divisions of the $60,000 CTHS Sales Stakes. Both races are at 6 1/2 furlongs and are restricted to 2-year-olds that have gone through a Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (B.C. Division) sale.
AUBURN, Wash. - Sundance Circle puts his unblemished record on the line Saturday when he heads a field of seven 2-year-olds in the $35,000 WTBA Lads Stakes at a mile.
Sundance Circle, a striking son of Katowice, has been progressively more impressive in his three starts, winning his debut by 2 1/2 lengths over maiden special weight company before registering a 5 1/2-length win in the Emerald Express and a 10 3/4-length score in the Strong Ruler Stakes on Aug. 9. He ran the fastest 6 1/2 furlongs every recorded by a 2-year-old at Emerald, 1:15.20, in the Strong Ruler.
CHICAGO - Handicappers face this puzzle all too often. There are two proven speed horses in a race. If both run as usual, they will flame out and set the race up for a closer. But in reality, the race rarely plays out in such obvious fashion. Horsemen and jockeys, after all, can read form, too. Finer distinctions are required, such as who is the speed of the speed, and which rider is more likely to send.
What he couldn't do at odds of 2-5 two years ago, Praise the Prince got done at 5-2 on Thursday, taking the Grade 1, $113,800 New York Turf Writers Cup Steeplechase Handicap before 17,494 at Saratoga.
Tres Touche, who finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Praise the Prince when those two were second and third in the A.P. Smithwick here on Aug. 7, finished second Thursday by the same margin. It was a neck back to Indispensable in third.
Two years ago, Praise the Prince wilted to third under a burdensome weight of 160 pounds. Thursday, he carried 150 pounds under Gus Brown.
Antonio Figueroa, 32, a stablehand who worked for trainer Raymond Einhorn, was fatally stabbed early Thursday in the Monmouth Park barn area.
Police responded to a 911 call around 2:30 a.m. and found the victim and "an excessive amount of blood," according to Monmouth County prosecutor John Kaye.
The police recovered a knife at the scene.
The New Jersey State Police and the Oceanport Police Department cordoned off a portion of the backstretch Thursday morning to conduct an investigation.