PHOENIX - Last year in the Queen of the Green Handicap, Alexine swooped down from Southern California and snatched first prize. It could happen again as Southern California raiders Reine de Romance, Polaire, and Double Cat run in this year's Queen of the Green on Saturday at Turf Paradise. The $50,000 race lured a field of 10 to go a mile on the turf.
There's an added bonus - Julie Krone, the Hall of Fame rider who recently came out of retirement, will ride likely favorite Reine de Romance.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Saturday's $50,000-added KLAQ Handicap at Sunland offers what most bettors are looking for: a large and competitive field. Twelve are entered for the 5 1/2-furlong race.
One horse that immediately catches the eye is Abajo. Abajo's last two races have been subpar, but he has by far the highest earnings in the field, almost $600,000, and has been facing top competition all his career. Garrett Gomez will ride for trainer Steve Asmussen.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Cigi will seek a third consecutive win at Portland Meadows on Friday, when he heads field of eight 3- and 4-year-olds in the six-furlong feature for $8,000 claimers.
Cigi, a 3-year-old son of Consigliere from the barn of trainer Debbie Van Horne, smoked maiden special weight rivals by three lengths in his local debut on Oct. 26, then came back Nov. 9 to lead throughout six furlongs in a crisp 1:12.62 while defeating $8,000 company by nearly two lengths. Kevin Murray, who was up for both of those wins, again has the mount at 121 pounds.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A victory cannot arrive soon enough for Euchre, who starts in a $58,000 allowance race at Hollywood Park on Friday.
Euchre has lost eight consecutive races, all in graded stakes, and has been entered in an allowance over 1 1/16 miles in an effort to restore his confidence.
Trained by Bobby Frankel, the 6-year-old Euchre finished fifth in the Grade 2 Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 6, losing by 5 1/2 lengths to Pleasantly Perfect.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wet-track specialists Expected Flirt and Leavethestudio are among the contenders in Friday's Woodbine headliner, a 6 1/2-furlong allowance for nonwinners-of-two races other than maiden, claiming, or restricted, or nonwinners-of-three races.
Expected Flirt has run three solid races since he was claimed for $60,000 by trainer Bob Tiller for The Very Dry Stable on Sept. 26. He was checked along the rail in midstretch in an Oct. 14 allowance, in which he was moved from fourth to third by disqualification.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Friday's feature at Aqueduct was originally carded as a mile turf race in the condition book. With a forecast for rain and an already rain-saturated turf course, the racing office wisely decided to scrap that idea and to accept entries for a dirt race at the same distance.
The likely favorite in the nine-horse field for the $58,000 allowance is Folkestone Park, a $1.15 million Keeneland yearling with 4 wins from 7 starts.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Danny who trains calls the Danny who rides "the most underrated rider at Churchill Downs."
Indeed, jockey Danny Coa is enjoying perhaps the most prosperous span of his career since he was a hot apprentice in 1998-99, having already won seven races at the Churchill fall meet, good for ninth in the jockey standings. Veteran trainer Danny Hutt believes Coa deserves more opportunities and, in the Friday feature at Churchill, he is putting one of his best horses behind that opinion.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - When Grammarian won the Sunset Handicap at 29-1 at Hollywood Park in July, owner Lindsey Williams dared to dream of lofty goals this fall.
Holding the winner's trophy, Williams announced that Grammarian's autumn goal was the prestigious Melbourne Cup in early November in Australia, where the owner was born.
That never happened. Grammarian was unplaced in the Sword Dancer Handicap at Saratoga and Kentucky Cup Turf at Kentucky Downs, forcing Williams to plot a more realistic campaign in the United States.
ALBANY, Calif. - When jockey Jason Lumpkins decided to move to Kentucky, it broke up the highest-ranking trainer-jockey turf combination in the country.
Based on statistics over the past three years from Daily Racing Form, the website Turfday.com rated Lumpkins and trainer Chuck Jenda the nation's No. 1 trainer-jockey combo.
Two other northern California trainer-jockey combos, R.L. Martin-Chad Schvaneveldt and Alex Paszkeicz-Alfredo Miranda, ranked third and fourth, respectively.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Following wins in his last two starts, including an upset in the Mohawk Handicap, New York-bred Quiet Ruler steps into graded stakes company in Saturday's $150,000 Red Smith Handicap at 1 3/8 miles at Aqueduct.
Quiet Ruler stunned the New York Showcase Day crowd with his 1 3/4-length win in the restricted Mohawk over a soft turf course at Belmont Park on Oct. 19. Trained by Russell Mueller, Quiet Ruler (45-1) was the second-longest price in the 11-horse Mohawk field.