ARCADIA, Calif. – Two 4-year-old fillies expected to play dominant roles in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes on Feb. 15 – Hard Not to Love and Mother Mother – had quick workouts at Santa Anita on Friday.
Hard Not to Love, the upset winner of the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at seven furlongs on Dec. 28, worked five furlongs in 1:00.60. The only horse with a faster time at the distance was Mother Mother, who was clocked in 59.80 seconds.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Peter Miller is planning to ship small teams of runners to the major stakes in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 29 and Dubai on March 28.
Billy Batts, Captain Scotty and Ghoul are bound for seven-figure stakes in Saudi Arabia.
Billy Batts, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in November, was scheduled to start in Friday’s $75,000 Baffle Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita as a prep for the $800,000 Diriyah Dirt Mile for 3-year-olds.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Two Thirty Five, second to Midcourt in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 1, is a candidate for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 7, trainer Richard Baltas said.
The $600,000 Big Cap is run at 1 1/4 miles and would be Two Thirty Five’s first start at the distance since a seventh in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August 2018. Last August, Two Thirty Five won the Harry Brubaker Stakes at a mile at Del Mar.
Friday’s eight-race card at Aqueduct was canceled due to a forecast for high winds.
The National Weather Service has issued a high-wind advisory for the New York City area with sustained winds between 25 and 35 miles per hour and gusts approaching 60 miles per hour.
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The 85th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile headlines 28 stakes worth $1.51 million at Emerald Downs in 2020. The 63-day meet begins on April 18 and concludes Sept. 20.
The Mile, for 3-year-olds and up, is scheduled for Aug. 9. It is the earliest date ever for the Mile, the premier race in the Pacific Northwest. Last year’s Mile was a thriller with Law Abidin Citizen edging Anyportinastorm by a head following a stretch-long duel.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Independence Hall was assigned post 4 in a field of eight 3-year-olds entered Wednesday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, to be run for the 40th time Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
The Davis is the lone Kentucky Derby qualifier across the country this weekend. It’s one of the last 17-point preps (10-4-2-1), along with the Feb. 15 El Camino Real and Feb. 17 Southwest.
Independence Hall, unchallenged in three starts, will have Jose Ortiz back aboard in the 1 1/16-mile Sam Davis.
Hog Creek Hustle is being aimed toward the Gulfstream Park Mile, a one-turn mile Feb. 29 at Gulfstream, trainer Vickie Foley said Wednesday.
“We’re still waiting to hear on shipping,” said Foley, who trains Hog Creek Hustle for Something Special Racing LLC. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to fly.”
Hieronymus will remain on turf and stay at Fair Grounds for his next start following an impressive victory Saturday in the Randy Romero Memorial.
Hieronymus got an easy lead in the Randy Romero, and proceeded to dominate his opposition with a very fast final quarter-mile. He won the one-mile grass race by 9 3/4 lengths and got a robust 92 Beyer Speed Figure while winning for the third time in four starts.
While many of North America’s leading older-male dirt horses are heading off to the Arabian Peninsula for the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29 and the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 28, Tom’s d’Etat is chilling in New Orleans.
The lightly raced 7-year-old ended his 2019 campaign with sharp wins in the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland and the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill on Nov. 29, had an easy December after being shipped to Fair Grounds, and on Feb. 1 posted his first workout since the Clark when he breezed three furlongs in 38 seconds under Miguel Mena.
