DEL MAR, Calif. – Gamine and Bellafina, slated for major Grade 1 races on Saturday at Saratoga, both put in their final works on Sunday at Del Mar.
Gamine, a 3-year-old filly, is coming off a spectacular win in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park two months ago. In her final prep for the Test Stakes, she worked six furlongs in 1:12.80, going from the five-furlong pole to the seven-furlong pole while leaving her workmate well behind coming to the finish.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Thousand Words and Honor A. P. are both headed to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs after emerging in good order from the Shared Belief Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar, their trainers said Sunday morning.
The Shared Belief was the final West Coast prep for the Derby, and it produced a surprisingly high 104 Beyer Speed Figure after the four runners all finished within 1 1/2 lengths of each other.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The victors - Improbable and Vexatious - and the vanquished - Tom’s d’Etat and Midnight Bisou - from Saturday’s Grade 1 fixtures at Saratoga all hope to end up in the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. How they get there is yet to be determined in part due to the lack of a set fall schedule for any of the major racing circuits.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Trainer Roger Attfield reports that Shirl’s Speight has excelled since his dominating win in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine, and his connections are looking at several stakes for the unbeaten 3-year-old sensation.
Shirl’s Speight, owned and bred by Charles Fipke, won his July 4 debut on the grass in a cakewalk and in near course-record time for the seven furlongs. Three weeks later, the son of Speightstown took the 1 1/16-mile Marine on the Tapeta with a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Swiss Skydiver, arguably the leader of the 3-year-old filly division, is expected to arrive in Saratoga on Tuesday and will make her next start in the Grade 1, $500,000 Alabama on Aug. 15, trainer Ken McPeek said Saturday.
On Saturday at Churchill Downs, Swiss Skydiver worked five furlongs in 1:01 over a muddy main track. With jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard, Swiss Skydiver went in splits of 13.40, 26.40 and 38.20, and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.
Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux was removed from his mount at Del Mar on Friday by track management after an alleged altercation on track premises earlier in the week.
Track president Josh Rubinstein cited a California Horse Racing Board rule that allows a racetrack to remove or deny “access for any reason deemed appropriate by the association.”
Rubinstein did not elaborate on the alleged incident, but said Friday morning that Desormeaux would not be allowed to ride at Del Mar.
Sole Volante breezed five furlongs over the turf in 1:02 on Friday morning at Palm Meadows, his first work since a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.
Sole Volante worked in company with stablemate Kelsey’s Cross, breaking a couple of lengths behind and finishing a head back while going easily throughout. The pair breezed inside the dogs but well off the inside fence.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Breaking the Rules made it 2 for 2 since his return from a year layoff with a strong one-length victory in a high-caliber allowance race here Wednesday.
Breaking the Rules, 13 lengths off the pace at one point, ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.35 and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. On June 20, Breaking the Rules won a 1 1/8-mile allowance race, his first race since he finished last in the Grade 3 Poker in 2019.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Pure Sensation worked three furlongs in 37.23 seconds Friday morning over the Oklahoma turf course, and the 9-year-old gelding is being pointed to next Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Troy Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs.
“You’d never know he was 9 years old the way he worked today,” trainer Christophe Clement said.
