ELMONT, N.Y. - In a span of 33 minutes last October, trainer Nick Zito watched an okay autumn afternoon at Belmont Park become unforgettable.
The first five horses Zito sent out on Belmont's Breeders' Cup Preview Day card last Oct. 14 all finished in the money, including a second- and third-place finish in the Grade 1 Frizette. Then came the day's showcase Grade 1 events, the Champagne and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Officer, the leading juvenile colt in the country, arrived Tuesday afternoon in New York, where he will head what is expected to be a five-horse field in Saturday's Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park.
Officer, who is undefeated in four starts, was accompanied by groom Rudy Silva and was bedded down in the barn of John Terranova, just two stalls down from Heavyweight Champ, one of Officer's main rivals in the Champagne.
Only three others - Jump Start, Saarland, and Thunder Days - are expected for the $500,000 Champagne, for juvenile colts at
1 1/16 miles.
ARCADIA, Calif. - It is a handicapping question to which there is no definitive answer - back class or current form? The issue is relevant Thursday at Santa Anita, as stakes winner Jeweled Pirate returns from an eight-month layoff against racing-fit Nashoba.
Nine fillies and mares entered the seventh-race feature, a three-other-than allowance at a mile on grass. Jeweled Pirate has not raced since upsetting Lazy Slusan Feb. 3 in the Pro Or Con Handicap for California-breds, but her workouts indicate trainer Ray Bell has her cranked.
CHICAGO - File the following under "too good to be true."
A horse skips an allowance condition, say from a maiden win to a second-level allowance race, and wins anyway. Now the horse can come back at exactly the same allowance condition, often against horses he just defeated. His edge is there for all to see.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Elegant Ridge has the ability, but chronic hoof problems have kept her from showing her best, said Barry Irwin, whose Team Valor Stables owns the 6-year-old mare.
Irwin is hoping Elegant Ridge's foot ailments are a thing of the past when she runs at Belmont Park in Thursday's featured eighth race, a third-level allowance event for filly and mare grass runners.
The 1 1/16-mile Widener turf race drew 13 runners, including one
also-eligible and two main-track only entrants. The purse is $48,000.
It doesn't take a scientist to train a racehorse, but with Duane Knipe, you get one.
Knipe, a former environmental scientist for the government, began training after he retired in 1985, and is in the midst of one of his most successful meets ever this season at Louisiana Downs.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - With the Canadian International and E.P. Taylor Stakes in the books, the long-term focus shifts to the 2001 Sovereign Awards.
This year's Sovereign ceremony, which honors the best in Thoroughbred racing and breeding, will be held at Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel on Friday, Dec. 14.
The Jockey Club of Canada has announced that the cutoff date for eligibility this year will be Nov. 18. Horses who have not made at least three starts in Canada during the current year will not be eligible for consideration.
The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained entry of Portage Lake and Wacky Jacky should be the betting favorite in Thursday's featured seventh race at Bay Meadows. The six-furlong optional claiming/allowance race is for second-level allowance runners or $40,000 claimers for a purse of $34,000.