ALBANY, Calif. - When Memmy O made her debut as a 2-year-old, trainer Jeff Bonde thought she was pretty special.
She beat colts in her first start, and Friday, nearly two years after that maiden race, she will attempt a Cinderella-story second act when she finally makes her second start in a six-furlong allowance race that is the Golden Gate Fields feature.
Talk about a horse coming back strong after surgery. Trainer Dallas Keen says Valhol, a 7-year-old gelding who will start as the 117-pound highweight Saturday night in the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston Race Park, has the ankles of a 2-year-old now.
"He's excellent," said Keen. "He has full range of motion to his ankle. Sometimes, when you take a chip out, you lose range."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Eddie Delahoussaye wanted to ride through the end of 2002, then ride into the sunset. But an accident last August at Del Mar altered his plan and sent him to the sidelines. On Monday night, he decided to stay there, announcing his retirement after nearly 35 years as a jockey.
Delahoussaye, 51, said the head and neck injuries he suffered from a fall during a race more than four months ago were still too troublesome for doctors to clear him to ride again.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Lake William was a 6-year-old with only 17 career starts when he showed up Dec. 26 in a $62,500 claiming race, his first start in eight months. Trainer Vladimir Cerin said what everyone was thinking: "Horses that have had problems throughout their career continue to have problems."
The potential upside, however, was as obvious as Lake William's flaws. "He was past-class, he looked like he was working okay, and on his best days, he's pretty darn good," Cerin said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Adoration is due for some luck Sunday in the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes for 4-year-old fillies. Winner of the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks last summer, Adoration's form tailed off in fall and she was stopped cold trying to rally in a Dec. 31 turf sprint comeback in which she finished ninth. Sunday, Adoration stretches out to two turns and returns to dirt. If her Tuesday morning team work was an accurate gauge, Adoration will be a major contender in the 1 1/16-mile El Encino.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Keeneland Association announced Tuesday that it would not hold its prestigious July select yearling auction in 2003, ending weeks of speculation that the sale might be canceled.
Plans call for the auction to resume in 2004 with a revised format, possibly including a limited number of horses selected for superior conformation as well as pedigree.
NEW ORLEANS - Yes, Gone Fishin rated for his rider when he raced at Fair Grounds on Dec. 15, but that doesn't mean he was happy about it.
Thursday, things will be simpler. Gone Fishin is a natural one-turn turf horse, and since he managed to finish second while racing around two turns last time, he should be tough turning back to a sprint in the featured ninth race at Fair Grounds.
The ninth race is one of three allowance races on a solid card that includes a fascinating maiden race for 3-year-old fillies.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Mark Casse has been around racing his entire life, so he has seen and heard most everything.
But Casse, 41, shakes his head about how the unbeaten colt he trains, Added Edge, has people talking.
"I've had more people, like other trainers in Canada, coming up and telling me what a really good horse he is," Casse said. "That doesn't happen to me very often."