OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There is so much depth to the field for Wednesday's $56,000 allowance feature at Aqueduct that trainer Richard Violette, who has entered graded stakes winner Free of Love, joked, "They should put up another $40,000 and call it a $100,000 overnight race."
Free of Love, making his first start since late July, is one of 10 runners entered in the classified allowance at a mile and 70 yards on the inner track. Beknown to Me is an also-eligible.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Shawklit Mint had shown consistency, but hadn't done anything flashy until last Thursday.
A 3-year-old New York-bred who is owned by Flatbird Stable, Shawklit Mint won an open-company allowance at Aqueduct by nine lengths and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 108. Her time in the third-level allowance was a quick 1:09.93 for six furlongs. Her previous career-high Beyer was a 96.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Kafwain will be trainer Bob Baffert's lone starter in Saturday's $380,000 Hollywood Futurity as Baffert attempts to win the race for the fourth time in the last six years.
Baffert had considered starting Domestic Dispute, the runner-up in the Sunny Slope Stakes at Santa Anita in October, but said that colt will not start until the upcoming Santa Anita meeting.
On Sunday, Domestic Dispute worked six furlongs in 1:11 at Santa Anita, the fastest of 14 recorded works at the distance.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sentimental Value tries to extend her winning streak to three on Wednesday in a $58,000 allowance race for 3-year-olds over a mile on turf.
Sentimental Value was being considered for the El Encino Stakes on Jan. 19, but her owner, The Thoroughbred Corp., will start Habibti in that race, leaving Sentimental Value to Wednesday's lesser prize.
With strong recent form, Sentimental Value has every chance to win for trainer Kristin Mulhall.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Gary Contessa trained the winner and runner-up, Grey Comet and Unswept, in the $82,625 Damon Runyon Stakes.
Grey Comet beat his stablemate by 3 3/4 lengths in the Damon Runyon, for 2-year-old New York-breds. They ran as separate betting interests.
Under Aaron Gryder, Grey Comet took the lead from Unswept, the unchallenged pacesetter, early in the stretch and drew off in the final furlong of the 1 1/16-mile race. Go Rockin' Robin finished third, a half-length behind Unswept, the 4-5 favorite.
Medium Rare ($3.20) closed out the meet the same way he opened it - with a win in a stakes. This time the race was the $33,350 Autumn Classic for statebreds, and he rallied for a half-length win over pacesetter and stablemate Coldiron Slew.
Medium Rare had won the opening-day Taliaferro Memorial.
In the Autumn Classic, Medium Rare raced about five lengths behind the pace early, then closed through the final furlong. He covered the six furlongs in 1:09.84. Leading rider Cliff Berry was aboard Medium Rare for trainer Roger Engel.
Camacho, ridden by Glen Corbett, went immediately to the lead and was never headed, winning the $50,000 Paradise Mile Handicap by 1 3/4 lengths. Camacho ran the mile on turf in 1:36.57 and paid $12.60.
R. Baggio, the 8-5 favorite, finished second by a head but was placed third for interfering with third-place finisher Milk Wood entering the stretch.
In his first start around two turns, Agrivating General ($7.40) settled behind the pace early in the $30,000 Magnolia then powered to a neck win over favorite Doc D.
Agrivating General settled in fifth behind pacesetter King Zonic early in the mile-and-70-yard race for 3-year-olds, then rallied strongly to complete the distance in 1:41.56. It was Agrivating General's his first in a stakes and second win overall from four career starts.
Just seven days after she finished a close fifth in a turf sprint stakes, Fuse It ($5.80) returned to dirt and powered to a three-length win over Mike's Sister in the $50,000 Gardenia for statebred fillies and mares. It was another neck back in third to Mamaleen.
Mamaleen and Mike's Sister dueled through an opening quarter of 21.76 seconds in the five-furlong race, before being overcome by Fuse It, who covered the distance on a fast track in 58.23 seconds. Guy Smith rode the winner for trainer Samuel Breaux.
MIAMI - As the field approached the quarter pole in Sunday's Snazzle Dazzle Handicap and the 1-2 favorite Amonita remained bottled up in traffic and well behind the pacesetting Notable Craft, Christophe Clement, Amonita's trainer, turned to his assistant and said, "It looks like we're going to get beat today."
But as has been the case so many times, jockey Jerry Bailey was able to extricate himself from the logjam and give Amonita enough time to run down the outclassed Notable Craft en route to a nerve-wracking victory.
