ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Rock Again, third-place finisher here in last Sunday's Queen's Plate, was injured during the running of that race and probably will not see action again this season.
"He ended up with a little hairline [fracture] in a back leg," said Malcolm Pierce, who trains Rock Again for Stronach Stable.
"He's going home. There's no surgery involved. He'll have a rest, and time to heal. You never know how long that'll be.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - When Lord Nelson steps out into one of the biggest dances of the Hastings Park meet, the Grade 3, $100,000 Lieutenant Governors' Handicap on Tuesday, he will be wearing new shoes. Lord Nelson has had chronic problems with his feet, quarter-cracks, and in his two starts this year, he wore bar shoes to try and protect his fragile feet.
AUBURN, Wash. - Round 2 of the budding rivalry between Youcan'ttakeme and Bisbee's Prospect, the ranking 3-year-old fillies on the grounds, will not take place in Sunday's $40,000 Irish Day Handicap at Emerald Downs.
Youcan'ttakeme, a decisive winner of Round 1 in last month's Federal Way Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs, will skip the Irish Day after missing about a week of training with a minor injury.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Being close, personal friends with luminary coaches Bill Parcells and Rick Pitino, trainer Shug McGaughey understands the importance of having a competent backup.
McGaughey was hoping he would be in position Saturday to capture his first Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes with last year's 2-year-old champion filly, Storm Flag Flying. But in two starts this year, Storm Flag Flying has failed to display that form and she will be in the barn Saturday afternoon.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Azeri casts a commanding shadow over the older fillies and mares division. The reigning Horse of the Year has been nearly flawless with only one loss in 14 career starts.
Summer Colony, the leading lady in Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Molly Pitcher Handicap at Monmouth Park, pinned that lone defeat on Azeri in the La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 9, 2002.
The upset remains a source of pride for trainer Mark Hennig. "Obviously, she's the only one to beat her," Hennig said. "That's one distinction no one else has at this point."
To say Desert Darby runs well fresh is an understatement. Last year, he won the Assault Stakes at Lone Star Park in his first start following a nearly one-year layoff. This year, Desert Darby will be coming back from a seven-month layoff for the same $100,000 race for Texas-breds, which will be renewed Saturday.
The Assault anchors Stars of Texas Day, a program of five stakes worth $575,000 in which each of the races will be restricted, most to horses bred in Texas.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - For the fourth time in less than a year, Dublino and Megahertz will meet in a major stakes, this time in Saturday's $200,000 Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park.
Judging from their first three encounters, their latest matchup could be memorable.
Dublino finished first in the 2002 American Oaks but was demoted to second for interfering with the runner-up, Megahertz, in deep stretch. A month later in the Del Mar Oaks, Dublino rallied to catch Megahertz at the finish, winning by a nose in a thrilling race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Moving from the obscurity of Zimbabwe to the desert of Dubai only served to further the legend of Ipi Tombe.
Now comes a transition that could raise her profile to far greater heights. Ipi Tombe, who already is being called the greatest racehorse ever to hail from the African continent, will make her American debut Saturday at Churchill Downs as the heavy favorite in the $150,000 Locust Grove Handicap, a Grade 3 turf race designed as a stepping-stone to a divisional Eclipse Award.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The depth of the New York-bred 3-year-old division is such that even with the two most accomplished horses in the crop - Funny Cide and Go Rockin' Robin - waiting for more lucrative spots, the $100,000 Mike Lee on Saturday still came up an interesting race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - For a 2-year-old stakes race this early in the year, Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Tremont at Belmont Park came up extremely strong.
Precocious juveniles from top 2-year-old trainers Todd Pletcher, D. Wayne Lukas, and Steve Asmussen comprise six of the eight entrants in the 5 1/2-furlong race.
Pletcher, who is 7 for 10 in juvenile races at this meet, has entered the trio of Korsakoff, Heckle, and Limehouse, though Limehouse is expected to scratch and run in the Bashford Manor next weekend at Churchill Downs.
