CHICAGO - There has been no recent shortage of young ladies in Carl Nafzger's life. Fillies have flocked to him this year.
Nafzger's stable, split now between Churchill and Arlington, has a strong feminine influence. First came the vastly talented Belterra, an early favorite for the Kentucky Oaks before suffering a physical setback. Take the Cake won the Forward Gal and finished second in the Ashland; and Cordoba, still another 3-year-old, finished fifth in the Ashland.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mysterious Affair, coming off a narrow loss against males, will be favored against her own sex in Wednesday's Ballade Stakes at Woodbine. Just four other Ontario-sired runners were entered in the $127,125, six-furlong race.
Mysterious Affair capped a four-race win streak when she took the 2001 Ballade by a neck over Ruby Park in June. She was shelved for the remainder of the year because of a knee problem, and resurfaced on March 29 with a second-place finish to Madame Roar in the La Voyageuse Handicap.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A top-class allowance on turf at Hollywood Park Wednesday is part of the pick six, which features a carryover of $200,095.
Dr. Park, who won two stakes last summer, makes his 4-year-old debut in a strong field in the seventh race, second-to-last race of the pick six.
Dr. Park went out of training last fall to have a bone chip removed from a knee. Trainer John Sadler envisions Wednesday's one-mile turf race as a springboard to graded stakes.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Not long ago both Ginger Gold and her rider, Richard Dos Ramos, looked to be touch and go to make it to the post for the 1 1/8-mile Woodbine Oaks.
But such worries proved to be unfounded. as Ginger Gold, with Dos Ramos in the irons for the first time this season, put on a dazzling display in last Saturday's $500,000 Oaks for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.
"She's a dream come true," said Dos Ramos, who had guided Ginger Gold to three stakes victories from four starts in her Sovereign Award-winning 2-year-old campaign.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Congaree has been named the 121-pound highweight for the $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on Saturday. And Bob Baffert is not happy about it.
Shortly after overseeing Congaree's five-furlong work in 1:01.20, Baffert was on the phone Monday morning with Churchill racing secretary Doug Bredar, expressing his displeasure that Congaree has been assigned more weight than horses such as Street Cry (120) and Milwaukee Brew (119).
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Take it from trainer Chuck Peery. There's just no way of knowing.
Peery may still be floating just a bit when he saddles Justnowayofknowin' in Wednesday's feature at Bay Meadows.
"That race looks awfully tough," said Peery, who faces Sempai and All Access among his seven rivals in the $50,000 claimer at six furlongs.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Last year, owner Ken Murphy and trainer Bob Young came up with a top regional 2-year-old filly in Miss Ritz. This year, they are back with a colt, Leo's Last Hurrahy, who remained undefeated in three career starts with his win in the $150,580 colts and geldings division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity at Lone Star Park last Saturday.
"He's a real talent," said Young.
STOCKTON, Calif. - Northern California's summer fair season opens Wednesday with the annual worries about the size of the horse population and how it will affect racing during two week stops in Stockton, Pleasanton, Vallejo, Santa Rosa, San Mateo, Ferndale, and Sacramento.
There were concerns last summer about the exodus of several major barns from northern California, but California Authority of Racing Fairs officials recruited a number of Arizona trainers this spring to race at the fairs.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In the midst of one of his stable's best years, trainer Ian Jory gave himself Sunday afternoon off take his daughter Chloe sightseeing in New York City.
The day out helped explain the poor reception on his mobile phone.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I'm just stepping off the boat at the Statue of Liberty," he said.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Two spills in nine days.
To say that Eibar Coa is fortunate to come out of the two accidents relatively unscathed would be an understatement. Coa has been involved in two scary falls - at Monmouth on May 30 and at Belmont last Saturday. In both spills, the other rider involved was injured.
So how does Coa, or any jockey for that matter, get back on a horse right after coming within inches of seriously injuring himself?
"It's part of your job," Coa said Sunday. "If you're fine, you have to get up and try again."