DEL MAR, Calif. - Disturbingthepeace was unstoppable last summer. He swept Del Mar's two major sprint stakes, the Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien handicaps, running his win streak to six.
He has not won since then.
Disturbingthepeace has gone far and wide searching for another elusive victory. To Arlington Park. Back home at Santa Anita. To Laurel. To Hollywood Park. Even to Japan. Nothing.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Honor in War is a 4-year-old colt by Lord at War, bred to develop later in his career than many American horses of this era. His trainer, Paul McGee, points out that Honor in War never has run badly, and that after sitting on the cusp of a stakes career, Honor in War broke through with a decisive win May 3 in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs. His immediate goal this summer: the Arlington Million.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Owsley was shipped to Arlington from New York to sidestep the strongest East Coast horses in her division, but she will not stroll to an easy victory in the Modesty Handicap.
Planted squarely in Owsley's path is Bien Nicole, who may be her equal in middle-distance turf races, such as the 1 3/16-mile Modesty. Beret and Flager are unproven in North American graded stakes, but they too may put up a fight.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Sea of Tranquility and Jersey Giant, two New Jersey breds who have proven their mettle in open company, renew a budding rivalry Saturday afternoon in the Grade 3, $100,000 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park.
Sea of Tranquility, the 7-year-old lion of summer, will bid for a record third straight win in the stakes.
At 4, Jersey Giant is the young cub starting to flex his muscles. He is unbeaten in three starts this season, including his most recent race, a victory over Sea of Tranquility in Monmouth's Skip Away Stakes on July 4.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - The inaugural running of the $50,000 Colts Neck Stakes Saturday afternoon at Monmouth Park offers rare opportunities for New Jersey-breds.
The stakes is set for one mile on the turf, a distance and surface rarely available to Jersey-breds, who are usually limited to six furlongs on the main track.
It is also unusual to find a New Jersey-bred race restricted to 3-year-olds. Most statebred 3-year-olds have to advance through their allowance conditions or compete in stakes against their elders.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Chapel Royal jumped to the head of the class in Todd Pletcher's 2-year-old division Thursday, which is akin to saying he is the best 2-year-old on the East Coast.
Demonstrating the ability to sit off horses, Chapel Royal made a three-wide move around the turn, collared dueling leaders in upper stretch, and drew clear for a decisive 5 3/4-length score in the Grade 2, $150,000 Sanford at sloppy Saratoga. The second day of the meet had an announced crowd of 30,500 on Edgar Prado bobblehead doll day.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Like his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, Jack Knowlton, the head of the Sackatoga Stable group which owns the gelding, needed a little freshening following the Triple Crown series.
Just like Funny Cide, Knowlton is rested and raring to go for the second half of the season. Now that Funny Cide has arrived in his hometown of Saratoga Springs - he was born at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, just five miles from the track - Knowlton and his crew are very much in the public eye again.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Both last year and this year, a potential Triple Crown winner was denied in the Belmont Stakes. That is the only similarity between the two races. When Empire Maker won the Belmont this year, the perception was that the world was back on its axis. When Sarava won the Belmont last year, most people had to check their program to see who, exactly, had just won.
Sarava was a 70-1 winner of the Belmont. It was considered a fluke. And he has done nothing since to disprove that notion. Then again, he hasn't even raced.