HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Unlike other fillies and mares in trainer Mark Hennig's barn, Unrestrained did not distinguish herself at an early age. But if Unrestrained follows her family tree, it could be a big year for this daughter of Unbridled.
Unrestrained is a half-sister to Colonial Minstrel and Minidar, who both became graded stakes winners at age 4. Friday, Unrestrained kicks off her 4-year-old campaign in the ungraded $65,000 Escena Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The winter doldrums have arrived at Aqueduct. There's snow in the infield, it's barely daylight when the last race is run, and the feature is a first-level allowance.
Eight older males were entered in the $43,000 eighth race Friday, which will be run at six furlongs over the inner track.
Wonderful Prospect, a beaten favorite at this level on Dec. 27, returns for trainer Richard Lundy, who has won with five of his 13 inner track starters.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Sir Bear, a fixture of the Gulfstream Park handicap division since 1998, launches yet another winter here Saturday in the $100,000 Skip Away Handicap.
* will seek his third Skip Away title, having won the Grade 3 event when it was still called the Broward Handicap in 1998 and 1999. He passed the race last year to successfully launch his 8-year-old campaign by upsetting the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Handicap later in the meet.
NEW ORLEANS - On Louisiana Champions Day, an eight-month layoff and a fast early pace caught up to L'homme in the final furlong of the Champions Day Turf. Mr. Sulu, the winner, and Bourbon Boogie, the place horse, caught up to him, too. But with the comeback race and two workouts under his belt, there might be no catching L'homme in Fair Grounds's featured race Friday.
ARCADIA, Calif. - FJ's Pace, trainer Doug O'Neill, and jockey Alex Solis have carved out a niche in high-priced claimers for turf sprinters in the last few years.
Since the 7-year-old FJ's Pace joined the O'Neill barn in the summer of 1999, he has won five of 22 starts, four of which came in turf sprints with Solis aboard.
On Friday at Santa Anita, the team will be out to pad its record when FJ's Pace starts as a likely contender in a $54,000 allowance race/optional claimer over about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bienamado, the top turf marathoner in California the last two years, has been retired following the discovery of a suspensory injury last week, trainer Paco Gonzalez said on Wednesday.
Co-owner John Toffan said Bienamado would stand at stud this winter, even though the breeding season starts in a month and no arrangements with a stud farm have been finalized.
"We're looking for a place to stand him," said Toffan, who owns Bienamado with Trudy McCaffery and Robert Sangster. "I want to breed him to a few mares."
PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Meadows will return to racing three days a week on Friday, when the track will offer 10 live races stocked with 103 runners.
Friday's card will inaugurate a slightly revamped wagering schedule. The nightcap, one of three races on the program with 12-horse fields, will offer superfecta wagering for the first time at this meeting. The pick three, which had been offered on races five through seven, has been discontinued.
NEW ORLEANS - Crucible is still crazy after all these years. And at age 7, he's still a capable stakes horse, too.
Rejuvenated with a fast-closing second-place finish three weeks ago at Fair Grounds in the F.W. Gaudin Handicap, his best race in a couple of seasons, Crucible starts again Saturday in another older-horse sprint stakes here, the Colonel Power. Ignored at odds of 13-1 in the Gaudin, he'll be taken more seriously this time after missing by a nose last time despite a troubled stretch run.
Urlacher has made a strong impression on horsemen at Sunland Park, winning both his career starts at this meet with ease against fellow New Mexico-breds.
In last Saturday's seventh race, he won a nonwinners-of-two-lifetime allowance race, covering six furlongs in 1:10.89 under jockey Brian Theriot.
Trainer Joel Marr will now point Urlacher for the $100,000-added Pepsi-Cola Handicap on Jan. 20, a state bred sprint for 3-year-olds.
