EDMONTON, Alberta - Don't look now, but owner Gordon Wilson is getting primed for another run at the Canadian Derby and his latest hopeful will be on display Friday at Northlands Park in the $30,000 Edmonton Juvenile.
The first stakes of the summer meet for 2-year-old colts and geldings is a six-furlong race that should provide a clue as to whether King o'the Rockies, an Alberta-bred gelding, will be Wilson's next great 3-year-old.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Officer did not need his top effort to win Wednesday's $125,000 Graduation Stakes for 2-year-old California-breds at Del Mar.
Making his stakes debut, Officer took the lead after a furlong and pulled away easily under Victor Espinoza to win by eight lengths over Crown the King. Trained by Bob Baffert for the Thoroughbred Corp., Officer ($2.20) finished 5 1-2 furlongs in 1:04.32 after setting fractions of 22.47 and 46.08. Crown the Kind was second throughout, and finished 3 1-2 lengths in front of Bid N Ask, who closed from last in the field of six to be third.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There was tremendous electricity at Saratoga on Wednesday, and it wasn't just from the bevy of additional electronic tote boards on the grounds.
From brilliant sunshine and hot temperatures to a lightning-fast main track on which a 54-year-old record was broken, Saratoga's 133rd meeting got off to a roaring start before a record crowd of 31,524 that included New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel. The previous mark was 30,658 set on Aug. 2, 1989. Last year, the opener drew a crowd of 27,810, which set a record for a July opening.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - His excellence at nine furlongs, his love for the Saratoga turf course, and his high-powered connections make Hap a hard-to-beat odds-on choice in Friday's $150,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga.
Hap is 3 for 4 at Saratoga, including victories in the Grade 2 Baruch and the Grade 2 Fourstardave last summer. Moreover, he is 6 for 6 at the Baruch distance of nine furlongs. That includes victories in the Dixie at Pimlico and the New Hampshire Sweepstakes at Rockingham, his only two starts this year.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - During training hours Wednesday morning at Arlington trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was asked if Boss Ego, a 5-year-old horse he trains, would be entered in Arlington's Friday feature. "Yes, if it goes," Hollendorfer replied.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Diadella, a close ninth in the July 7 Dance Smartly Handicap, looks best in Friday's Woodbine headliner, a $62,500 optional claimer for fillies and mares.
The conditions of the seven-furlong turf dash - for those who haven't won three races, or two other than - are made to order for Diadella, who won the one-mile Ontario Colleen Handicap as a 3-year-old last summer. She was put away for the winter after running fifth an Oct. 1 stakes at Hawthorne, and was third in an allowance race at Keeneland when she resurfaced April 20.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The distance was too far. So goes the convenient excuse for Touch of the Blues, unplaced when favored three weeks ago in the Grade 2 American Handicap at nine furlongs.
The alibi makes sense, and forgiving bettors will make Touch of the Blues the solid favorite Friday at Del Mar when he races a mile on turf - optimum conditions for him - as the 121-pound highweight in the $75,000-added Wickerr Handicap.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - This time, Macho Uno lost the bob.
In a finish reminiscent of last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Macho Uno was bobbing and weaving through the stretch, but this time he fell a nose short in his 3-year-old debut Wednesday at Saratoga. Wicked Will ($22), under Pat Day, came flying through the lane to get up and beat last year's 2-year-old champion. He covered seven furlongs in 1:21.88.
It was the first race for Macho Uno since he nipped Point Given in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, weaving through the lane but holding on to win by a head.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockeys Chris McCarron and Brice Blanc took off their mounts on Wednesday at Del Mar because of lingering soreness from injuries suffered in spills in the last week.
Blanc was kicked in the lower back in the second race on July 18 and has not ridden since. McCarron has not ridden since Saturday after he fell from Starrer at the start of the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park.
"He's been sore and is trying to get the soreness out to ride," said Scotty McClellan, McCarron's agent.
