OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Debra Sones's first stop following Friday's eighth race at Aqueduct - after the visiting the winner's circle, that is - was the racing office where she nominated Golden Made to the $75,000 Correction Handicap on Feb. 1.
Golden Made earned her spot in that six-furlong stakes race with an impressive, front-running score in Friday's classified allowance race. Golden Made, owned, bred, and trained by Sones, covered six furlongs in 1:11.32 in her first start since Nov. 28.
ALBANY, Calif. - Jockey Russell Baze has received many honors and awards throughout his career, but he will receive one of his most unusual awards Monday at Golden Gate Fields.
A fan, D. Vernon Willis of Hillsborough, Calif., will present Baze with a specially commissioned color drawing of his 8,000th career victory, which came on Oct. 26 at Bay Meadows aboard Ourwhistlebritches.
"I'm like a lot of people. I read the paper and follow the box scores," Willis said. "I follow great athletes like Jerry Rice and Annika Sorenstam and Russell Baze.
Sassy Hound is by far the fastest and most accomplished sprinter in the six-horse field for Monday's $60,000 Hoover Stakes at Laurel Park.
But horseplayers are skeptical by nature and some might be wondering why Sassy Hound keeps appearing in the entries at various tracks, but hasn't run since November, when he was a close third in the Grade 1 De Francis Memorial Dash.
Trainer Ben Feliciano has entered Sassy Hound four times since late December, including stakes at Aqueduct and Mountaineer Park, only to scratch him each time.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Got Koko pulled a shocking upset at 17-1 in the La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 28, the first leg of the three-race La Canada Series.
The second leg is Sunday's $150,000 El Encino Stakes over 1 1/16 miles and Got Koko will be back to prove that her recent win was not a fluke.
"I think she's made for the mile," trainer Bruce Headley said. "She's long-legged, patient, and she runs the last part."
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The field for Sunday's $100,000 Mac Diarmida Handicap at Gulfstream Park has a very familiar look to it. Ten of the 12 starters met three weeks ago in Calder's Grade 2 W.L. McKnight Handicap, including Serial Bride, Rochester, and Whata Brainstorm, the three horses who appear to have the best chance of taking home Sunday's winner's share of $60,000.
The Mac Diarmida, at 1 3/8 miles on turf, serves as a major prep for the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Handicap, which will be run at the same distance on Feb. 16.
NEW ORLEANS - Discreet Hero lost by inches to Rock Slide six weeks ago at Fair Grounds in the Tenacious Handicap. Now, he has to deal with Rock Slide's younger brother.
Mineshaft, a full brother to Rock Slide, makes his United States stakes debut in Sunday's $75,000 Diplomat Way Handicap. He and Learned, another newcomer to stakes racing, could make the Diplomat Way just as tough for Discreet Hero as Rock Slide made the Tenacious.
ALBANY, Calif. - El Dorado Shooter, who holds the Golden Gate Fields track record for six furlongs, will be the one to beat in Sunday's $60,000-added Montclair Handicap at six furlongs.
It was in the Montclair two years ago that El Dorado Shooter set the Golden Gate record of 1:07.55.
El Dorado Shooter, a 6-year-old gelding who will have five rivals Sunday, comes off an impressive victory in the Oakland Handicap on Dec. 7. That was his first win since
PORTLAND, Ore. - Can't Be Golden is the one to beat in Sunday's one-mile allowance feature at Portland Meadows. The race attracted an intriguing field of seven 4-year-old colts and geldings and one 5-year-old mare.
Can't Be Golden, a lightly raced son of Can't Be Slew trained by Laurie Ansell, won his debut here a year ago and then appeared to be overmatched when beaten in the Flying Lark Stakes a week later.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bonus Pay Day, the only horse in a field of five available for a claiming price, pulled an upset in a $76,700 allowance/optional claiming race on Friday at Santa Anita.
Eligible to be claimed for $100,000, Bonus Pay Day was overlooked by bettors, who focused on Labamta Babe, the winner of the 2002 Santa Catalina Stakes, and Truly a Judge, the winner of the Claiming Crown Jewel Stakes at Philadelphia Park last August.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Mike Gill juggernaut just keeps rolling. Boston Brat, owned by Gill and trained by Mark Shuman, set a Gulfstream record for five furlongs, winning the third race Friday in 56.35 seconds. Cornelio Velasquez was aboard Boston Brat, who returned $2.80.
The time bettered the record of 56.60, set in 1997 by Punch Line. "Cornelio said the horse wasn't tired, but he was," said Shuman. "He said it was everything he could do to keep the horse from going in 55."
