ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Heading into the final eight weeks of the Woodbine meeting, trainer Reade Baker's outfit has just one stakes victory.
But that count could change dramatically over the next three cards, as Baker will send out contenders in Saturday's Princess Elizabeth, Sunday's La Lorgnette, and Wednesday's Deputy Minister.
Gonetofarr will be looking to get the ball rolling for Baker in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth, a 1 1/16-mile race for Canadian-bred 2-year-old fillies.
OCALA, Fla. - As an inventor, Arthur I. Appleton's innovations range from a widely used patent for automobile seat belts to an acclaimed steak sauce. His Appleton Electric Company wired the Superdome in New Orleans. And through the years, he has campaigned a formidable stable of racehorses, including My Gallant, Jolie's Halo, and Forbidden Apple.
MIAMI - Amy Tarrant had already attended four 2-year-old sales and been outbid on several horses she had fancied when Bold World came into the ring during the Ocala Breeders' sales in April. Tarrant and her trainer, Ron Taylor, had pinpointed Bold World, a Fortunate Prospect filly, as far and away the best prospect at the sale, and this time she was determined to come away with the winning bid.
ANDERSON, Ind. - Marciann tries for a repeat in the $40,000-added Merrillville Stakes at Hoosier Park on Saturday. Eight Indiana-bred fillies and mares were entered in the six-furlong race.
Marciann was the best Indiana-bred filly in training a year ago, reeling off three consecutive stakes victories, including the Merrillville. A 4-year-old daughter of Speedy Cure, she posted a 5-1-0 mark from six starts last year, good for the majority of her lifetime bankroll of $166,716.
Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., drew full fields for the first half of its fourth annual Breeders' Festival, a two-day series of eight statebred stakes worth more than $360,000. The male divisions of the races are to be run Saturday, with the female ranks to follow Sunday.
If, as expected, 3-year-old filly Xtra Heat challenges older males in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, it will easily be the biggest race of her career. But trainer John Salzman is already looking beyond the World Thoroughbred Championships to next year.
Salzman said he wants to use the Sprint to help determine whether it's worthwhile to ship Xtra Heat to Dubai for one of the lucrative stakes on the Dubai World Cup program.
MIAMI - Christophe Clement, who has dominated late-season turf stakes at Calder for the past several years, begins his 2001 invasion in earnest Saturday when he ships in Sheppard's Watch as the likely favorite in the $200,000 Calder Oaks. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies is one of five stakes on the undercard for the 13-race Festival of the Sun program.
MIAMI - Since Ms. Brookski was defeated by 26 lengths in the opening leg of the filly division of the Florida Stallion Series, it might be hard to imagine that nine weeks later she even would be in the field for the series finale, the $400,000 My Dear Girl Stakes, which will be run Saturday.
But Ms. Brookski is not only in the series finale with eight other runners, she is also likely to win it.
EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Valiant Halory has yet to find success outside the allowance ranks, but he will still be the favorite when he ships to Suffolk Downs for Saturday's $25,000 Topsider Stakes.
The Topsider will pit a field of 10 older horses at six furlongs. Valiant Halory gets in under 117 pounds and will be ridden by Taylor Hole.
Valiant Halory hasn't finished better than second in 10 starts this year but the change in company should work in his favor.
The $250,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic, to be run Saturday night at Charles Town, comes down to youth and talent versus age and experience. Confucius Say, a 3-year-old son of Eastover Court, will be favored against seven others, including Coolmars, who won the race last year, and Rebellious Dreamer, the winner in 1999.