JAMAICA, N.Y. - Deed I Do, stakes-placed at 2 and 3, has spent more time in her Belmont Park barn than at the races this year, but she could be ready to fire big on Thursday at Aqueduct.
Deed I Do, a 4-year-old who showed promise in her first two seasons on the track, makes only her third start of the year in a seven-furlong allowance race, which drew five fillies and mares. The sixth race, the feature on the nine-race card, carries a $54,000 purse.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - After a pair of runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2000 with King Cugat and Baptize, trainer Bill Mott got his first win in the $83,475 Pilgrim Stakes with Miesque's Approval on Tuesday at Aqueduct.
Miesque's Approval, the 3-5 favorite in the nine-horse field of 2-year-old colts, was a neck winner over Finality, who set a comfortable pace. Regal Sanction was third, 2 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - On a cold and blustery Tuesday morning at Belmont Park, trainer John Terranova was talking about warm and sunny California, where he will send a string of eight to 10 horses, including his good 2-year-old, Heavyweight Champ, this winter.
Heavyweight Champ will leave Monday for Hollywood Park, where he will run in the $100,000 Hollywood Prevue on Nov. 17. Terranova said other horses from his stable would join Heavyweight Champ, although as of Tuesday, the trainer hadn't made a final decision as to who those horses will be.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The durability of Laffit Pincay Jr. continues to amaze.
On Monday, Pincay, 54, clinched his third riding title of 2001 with two winners on the final day of the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita. Pincay finished the six-week meeting with 33 winners, two more than 37-year-old Alex Solis.
Pincay has won five riding titles at the Oak Tree meeting, including the 2000 title.
Earlier this year, Pincay won riding titles at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting and the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting before finishing second at Del Mar.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Kimberlite Pipe, who had been expected to add some sizzle to Saturday's Autumn Handicap at Woodbine, will not see action again this season.
"He's gone home," said trainer Mike Wright Jr., noting that Kimberlite Pipe is in good order but already has raced 11 times this year and will be freshened up at nearby Huntington Stud Farm. "He'll start training in February in Maryland, and be ready for opening week here next year."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Hollywood Park, which annually presents some of the best turf racing in California, begins its autumn meet Wednesday a little bit like a sitting duck. One look at the opening-day card - which averages seven runners per race - and you have to wonder whether racing secretary Martin Panza has any concerns.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Following losses in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and California Cup Juvenile on the last two Saturdays, Officer will have another chance later this fall to mend his battered reputation as one of the nation's top 2-year-olds.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Monday that Officer emerged in good shape from his second-place finish in the California Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. He will be pointed for the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity at Hollywood Park on Dec. 15.
ARCADIA, Calif. - While his next racing assignment is unclear, Tiznow has returned to training at Santa Anita and is showing better manners than he did before he successfully defended his title in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 27.
Tiznow galloped on the Santa Anita training track for the third consecutive day on Monday. In each occasion, he displayed none of the ornery behavior that concerned trainer Jay Robbins in the weeks leading up to the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Golden Gate Fields opens its doors Wednesday for a 101-day meet, featuring 30 stakes races, including the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby on March 9, one of 11 stakes worth six-figures scheduled at the northern California stand,.
With a few exceptions, racing will be conducted Wednesdays through Sundays, with a 12:45 p.m. Pacific first post.
Special Monday cards are scheduled for Dec. 17, Dec. 31, Jan. 21, and Feb. 18. Earlier posts are on tap for Nov. 22, Dec. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 3, and March 2.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The handle for Saturday's California Cup at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting set a record of $19,992,379 for the program, surpassing the 1998 mark of $17.5 million.
Nationwide handle set a California Cup day record of $7,862,706 while ontrack handle of $5.4 million and statewide handle of $6.7 million were among the highest in the 12-year history of the California Cup.
