LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It hasn't much mattered what Carl Nafzger has sent out to run at the Churchill Downs fall meet, which began three Sundays ago. Maiden races, allowances, stakes - the only important thing is that Nafzger is listed as trainer.
With 10 wins from 20 starts, Nafzger is on a streak of the hottest kind. A former rodeo cowboy, Nafzger has been training Thoroughbreds for nearly 35 years, but he is hard-pressed to remember being on a roll quite like this.
GROVE CITY, Ohio - Mercer's Cool Cat heads a field of seven Ohio-bred 2-year-olds in Sunday's $40,000 Ohio Freshman Stakes at Beulah Park.
Mercer's Cool Cat is one of only two stakes-placed starters in the 1 1/16-mile Freshman by virtue of back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Hoover Stakes at River Downs and the Loyalty at Thistledown in August.
In his most recent start, Mercer's Cool Cat won his maiden here at 1-5 over statebred maiden special weight company on Oct. 27. Mercer's Cool Cat won the six-furlong race by 3 3/4 lengths for owner-trainer Dennis Mammen.
If the mare Princess Jen could read, she would love how Sunday's $30,000 Lady's Secret at Remington Park sets up for her on paper.
Many of her 11 rivals want the early lead in the seven-furlong race for fillies and mares, and if they duel early, it will benefit Princess Jen's closing style.
"You always want all the speed you can have," said Ronnie Campisano, who trains Princess Jen.
EDMONTON, Alberta - Horse Racing Alberta, the provincial regulatory body, offered Northlands Park a 10-year license extension that would run from Jan. 1, 2004, through Dec. 31, 2013.
Dr. Pat Brennan, HRA racetrack license committee chair, explained that the deal would solidify the long-term health of Thoroughbred racing in Alberta.
But the announcement has left as many questions as answers.
MIAMI - Bill Mott has won more than his share of training titles in south Florida, where he's dominated the standings at Gulfstream Park for much of the last decade. But Mott has never won a championship at Calder, where the titles are usually decided long before the Hall of Fame horseman hits town with the majority of his stable during the late fall.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Horse racing is a serious business, but for Ray and Columbine Crawford, who bred and own Colondelivery, it's more of a hobby than anything. Not that they don't want to make a profit - and they have over the years with the few horses they have raised - it's the fun of the sport that keeps them in the game. Ray also trains their horses, and he has been very patient in his handling of Colondelivery, who should be one of the favorites in the Autumn Leaves allowance Sunday at Hastings.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sheila's Prospect already has been a stirring success story for trainer Lorne Richards and owner K.K. Sangara.
Claimed for $50,000 here Aug. 10, 2001, Sheila's Prospect has gone on to win five races and $269,186 for her current outfit. And Sheila's Prospect could add a climactic chapter here Sunday, when she looks to give Richards and Sangara their first Ontario stakes score in the Bessarabian Handicap.
When Toccet drew post 14 for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, trainer John Scanlan walked out of the tent in which the draw was conducted.
"I should have taken my ball and gone home," Scanlan said.
Instead, Scanlan stayed and watched Toccet fade to ninth after making a premature middle move down the backside.
"He doesn't want to be rushed," Scanlan said. "It was either rush him or take back."
