OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Conventional wisdom said the warm weather that enveloped the New York area Thursday would have been the last thing Aqueduct track superintendent Jerry Porcelli would have wanted for his winterized inner track.
Many believed the near 50-degree temperatures would only turn an already wet surface into chocolate pudding, perhaps forcing the cancellation of the card. But, Porcelli was all smiles Thursday morning.
NEW ORLEANS - Not only will Bonapaw's connections accept their horse's 123-pound weight assignment for Sunday's Colonel Power Handicap at Fair Grounds, they will accept it with glee.
Bonapaw's co-owner, Dennis Richard, confirmed Thursday that Bonapaw will start Sunday in the six-furlong Colonel Power, his first race since he finished fifth Nov. 30 in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. Bonapaw will make this start less than two weeks after returning to his regular training regimen following a 30-day rest period.
Horses are animals, not machines, so they don't run the same race every time. Except for Daddy Cool, that is.
Since coming to Dickie Small's barn from Canada in the fall, the 5-year-old Daddy Cool has won three straight route races at Laurel Park, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure each time. Most recently, he cruised to a three-length, wire-to-wire victory despite stumbling at the start of the Walter Haight Handicap.
Daddy Cool will try to make it 4 for 4 in Maryland and stretch his overall winning streak to five races in Saturday's $75,000 Native Dancer at Laurel.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though the three principle horses are the same, it would be a mistake to handicap Saturday's Grade 3 Affectionately Handicap based on what happened in last year's Grade 3 Next Move Handicap.
With Ability, Pocus Hocus, and Zonk finished first, fifth, and last, respectively, in the Next Move, run over Aqueduct's main track, and head a nine-horse field entered in the $100,000 Affectionately over Aqueduct's inner track. In the Next Move, With Ability was able to get loose on the lead and set a moderate pace en route to a 5 1/4-length win.
NEW ORLEANS - Zydeco Affair has raced eight times in his life, and already he has started at five different tracks. Track number six is Fair Grounds, where Zydeco Affair runs Saturday in the Black Gold Handicap.
He has landed in surprisingly deep water.
For 3-year-old turf horses at about 7 1/2 furlongs, the $75,000 Black Gold drew a field of eight with several promising young horses. There are no automatic throw-outs, and several first-time turf horses with proven dirt ability complicate the picture.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainers D. Wayne Lukas and Bob Baffert, the titans of the Triple Crown, begin on the trail to the first Saturday in May in the Grade 3, $100,000 Golden Gate Derby on Saturday at Golden Gate.
Lukas sends Ozzie Cat up north in search of his second victory in eight starts. Baffert will attempt to repeat Danthebluegrassman's Gold Rush Stakes-Golden Gate Derby double of last year with Spensive.
"This is where the trail to the Derby starts," Baffert said.
The 1 1/16-mile race drew 11 entrants with Ozzie Cat drawing post 5 and Spensive post 9.
Colonial Glitter, who won by over 10 lengths in the Bourbonette Breeders' Cup at Turfway last March, returns to the site of her biggest win on Saturday as the probable favorite in the $50,000 Wishing Well Stakes at six furlongs. Ten fillies and mares have been entered.
PHOENIX - If Saturday's $35,000 Sun Devil at Turf Paradise were a sprint, Hula Kat would surely be a prohibitive favorite.
But the Sun Devil is a mile, and four of the eight 3-year-old fillies entered will be trying the distance and two turns for the first time, including Hula Kat, who still figures to be a mild favorite.
Zarb's Luck will meet many of the same horses he defeated last out in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint in the $50,000 Cypress for statebreds Saturday night at Delta Downs in Vinton, La.
The 6 1/2-furlong race, which will be run around two turns, drew a field of nine.
Zarb's Luck is after his third straight statebred stakes win. One start before his win in the Champions Day Sprint, in which he defeated four of the rivals he faces in the Cypress, he won the $50,000 Louisiana Premier Day Sprint at five furlongs at Delta.