NEW ORLEANS - The last time Generous Rosi raced at Fair Grounds, you barely could find him. But that was before trainer Niall O'Callaghan came up with the brilliant idea of turning a turf horse into a dirt horse.
On Friday, Generous Rosi makes his first start of the season in Fair Grounds's featured ninth race, a high-end route allowance that has attracted a good field of nine, including a Tom Tomillo-trained entry.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Friday's $100,000 Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park will reunite the first three finishers - Worldly Victor, Charming Colony, and Lord Juban - from last month's Dave Feldman Stakes. But it may be the horse who finished sixth that day, Emergency Status, who will spoil the rematch in the Grade 3 turf fixture for 3-year-olds.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Mr Ross, one of the region's top handicap horses, had been expected to make his first start since passing $1 million in earnings in either the Grade 3, $75,000 Essex at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, or that day's $200,000 Connally Breeders' Cup at Sam Houston Race Park. But he will pass both races, according to his trainer, Donnie Von Hemel.
ALBANY, Calif. - El Dorado Shooter came into last year's Ken Maddy Sprint at Golden Gate Fields on a roll.
On Saturday, he will enter the Ken Maddy, a $100,000 six-furlong race for California-breds, surrounded by question marks.
Last year, El Dorado Shooter, a homebred trained by Cliff Delima and owned by his wife, Barbara, came into the race after setting a track record at the distance in the Montclair Handicap.
This year, El Dorado Shooter comes into the race off a sixth-place finish in the Montclair, which was his first start in nearly eight months.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Anything less than two wins at Santa Anita on Thursday will be a disappointment for trainer Bruce Headley.
Anything less than a conquest of the pick six, which has a $186,350 carryover, will be a disappointment for many bettors.
On an eight-race program, Headley has two likely favorites - Diamond Tiara in the second race, a $54,000 allowance race for 3-year-old fillies, and Grand Appointment in the seventh race, a $54,000 allowance race for California-breds. Grand Appointment will appear on thousands of pick six tickets.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Jim Picou passed Saturday's Grade 3 Canadian Turf Handicap, looking to find a softer spot to launch multiple graded stakes winner Whata Brainstorm's comeback. But he might find the competition just as tough when he runs Whata Brainstorm for the first time in 11 months in Thursday's $46,000 allowance feature over the Gulfstream Park turf course.
NEW ORLEANS - Louie Roussel holds the keys to the featured ninth race at Fair Grounds. For starters, Roussel has entered the most logical winner, Bold Diva, and she is part of an entry with Extended View, whose participation would change the whole complexion of the race.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Crafty Shaw, who overcame trouble to win last month's $75,000 Diplomat Way by a neck, will go after his fourth consecutive win Saturday in the Grade 3, $75,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
There were five probable starters for the 1 1/16-mile race early in the week. Connections for the 122-pound highweight and defending champ, Mr Ross, were still deciding Tuesday between the Essex and $200,000 Connally Breeders' Cup Turf at Sam Houston Race Park, which also runs Saturday.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Allen Severinsen thinks he may be saddling the winner in Thursday's co-feature at Golden Gate Fields, a $40,000 optional claiming race for 3-year-olds at one mile on the turf.
He secretly hopes it is Moyo Simba he greets in the winner's circle, because that's the one he trains. But he could end up there with Thin Client, a colt he will saddle as a fill-in for trainer Richard Mettee.
"If he beats Moyo Simba, that's the way it goes," Severinsen said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The cheapest stakes at Santa Anita last weekend may produce a starter for the meeting's richest race.
After Kudos won Sunday's $72,575 San Marino Handicap, trainer Richard Mandella said he may return for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 2. Run over 1 1/4 miles, the San Marino was transferred from turf to dirt, which did not bother Mandella. "I've been hoping for this in the last few weeks," Mandella said.