VANCOUVER, British Columbia - After trouncing his opposition in two straight stakes races, Kid Katabatic will be a heavy favorite to win the Grade 3, $75,000 Lieutenant Governors' at Hastings Park on Monday.
A winner of 16 of 36 starts, including the 2000 Longacres Mile, Kid Katabatic is one of the most accomplished horses of recent years in the Pacific Northwest, but, amazingly, he wasn't favored in either of his last two races.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Belterra, one of the top choices in Saturday's $250,000 Mother Goose at Belmont Park, was scratched on Friday.
Belterra's trainer, Carl Nafzger, told the racing office his filly wouldn't run because she had a fever.
The Mother Goose field was reduced to four with the defection of Belterra, who figured to vie for the role of favorite with Black-Eyed Susan winner Chamrousse.
Belterra arrived at Belmont Park on Wednesday after working at Churchill Downs on Tuesday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is a pick six carryover of $405,192 for Friday's evening program at Hollywood Park after bettors failed to conquer the best for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
Friday's program begins at 7 p.m.; the pick six covers races three through eight.
Here are the changes for the pick six races:
The third race is run over a mile on turf for maidens. There are eight entrants, but only seven betting interests since Dirty Windows and Magic Wheat have common ownership who is coupled. The race is led by Ron Cherry, who is 7-5 on the morning-line.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Spain and Summer Colony come to Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Molly Pitcher Breeders' Cup Handicap at Monmouth Park along different paths. With a victory, one will leave Monmouth as the top filly in the East and chief challenger to Azeri, the divisional leader out West and the best filly in the country.
The Molly Pitcher, for fillies and mares at nine furlongs, drew a field of five.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - As if six wins in five days last week weren't enough, trainer Terri Pompay continued her hot streak by sending out another winner Wednesday at Monmouth Park. Seven wins in six days, including a win each day. She had no horses entered Thursday.
"I guess I better quit training while I'm ahead," Pompay joked Thursday morning. "I just want to ride the wave as long as I can."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Although Astra will be heavily favored in Saturday's $250,000 Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park, there may be some suspense in the late stages of the race.
On May 27, Astra won the Grade 1 Gamely Breeders' Cup Handicap by a head, catching Starine in the final stride under Kent Desormeaux. Starine did not enter the Beverly Hills, and there are no other Grade 1 winners from the United States to challenge Astra, the 124-pound topweight.
Could the move to statebred ranks mean more to a horse?
Lights on Broadway, who last year swept the two richest dirt races offered for horses bred in Texas, will get back to racing with statebreds Saturday when he defends his title in the $125,000 Assault, the richest of six restricted stakes at Lone Star Park that make up the Stars of Texas Day.
Together, the races are worth close to $600,000, and offer a preview of some of the Texas horses most likely to qualify for the inaugural NTRA Great State Challenge at Sam Houston Race Park on Dec. 7.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A small field seemed probable for the $164,700 Clarendon Stakes for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds Saturday at Woodbine, mainly because of the expected presence of Goldies Legacy, an impressive winner of his lone start.
But when word got out that Goldies Legacy would be a no-show for the 5 1/2-furlong dash because he had popped a puss pocket in his foot, the field size swelled to eight, with only two winners in the lineup.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Many would have thought that by the end of June Belterra would have already established herself as one of the top 3-year-old fillies in the country. Instead, Saturday's $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park offers Belterra a chance to play catch-up in a division with no clear-cut leader.
