Tue, 02/11/2014 - 16:04

Gulfstream Park: Honor Code to resume working on Wednesday

Barbara D. Livingston
At 12-1, Honor Code is the lowest price individual entry in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

The highly regarded 3-year-old Honor Code, who recently missed some training time with a minor injury, is scheduled to work on Wednesday morning at Gulfstream Park as he begins anew his preparation for his 2014 debut, trainer Shug McGaughey said Tuesday afternoon.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 15:52

Fair Grounds notes: Pletcher sending in Intense Holiday for Risen Star

Barbara D. Livingston
Intense Holiday, third in the Holy Bull Stakes last time out, will ship to Fair Grounds for the Risen Star.

Intense Holiday, who finished a solid third in Cairo Prince’s Holy Bull Stakes romp, will make his next start in the Grade  2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 22 at Fair Grounds.

Intense Holiday also had been under consideration for the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but Pletcher said via text message Monday that Intense Holiday would instead be shipped from Pletcher’s Palm Meadows base to New Orleans for the 1  1/16-mile Risen Star. Pletcher still has Commissioner as an intended runner in the Fountain of Youth.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 15:13

Havana, Hartford back on schedule for Pletcher

Barbara D. Livingston
Havana breezes a half-mile in 50.50 seconds on Tuesday at Palm Meadows.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Two of trainer Todd Pletcher’s plethora of Kentucky Derby hopefuls worked at Palm Meadows on Tuesday, including his most-accomplished 3-year-old, Havana.

In his third work in less than two weeks, Havana breezed a half-mile in 50.50. His stablemate Hartford, who won his only race by 5 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream last month, got back on track Monday after having missed a work, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.25.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 14:28

Gulfstream Park: Borel to ride Almost Famous again in Fountain of Youth

Barbara D. Livingston
Calvin Borel rode Almost Famous to a fourth in the Jan. 25 Holy Bull (above) and will be aboard for the Fountain of Youth.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Pat Byrne has confirmed that Calvin Borel will return from Oaklawn Park to ride Almost Famous in the Feb. 22 Fountain of Youth. Borel was aboard the colt when he finished fourth behind Cairo Prince in the Jan. 25 Holy Bull.

Almost Famous breezed a half-mile in 49 seconds at Palm Meadows on Saturday, and Byrne said he plans a blowout for the colt this weekend.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 14:25

Santa Anita: Baffert colts Bayern, Tap It Rich face key test

Barbara D. Livingston
Tap It Rich will make one last start as a 2-year-old in Saturday's Grade 1 CashCall Futurity.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bob Baffert has grand plans for 3-year-old colts Bayern and Tap It Rich: “They’ll go in stakes from here on out.”

Before embarking on the Derby trail, they face a key test with key equipment changes Thursday at Santa Anita. Baffert expects the changes to produce improvement in a one-mile allowance at Santa Anita.

Bayern, a highly rated maiden sprint winner, takes blinkers off. The objective is to ration his speed second time out, first time long.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 14:06

Oaklawn Park: Southwest runners head south to beat the weather

Dustin Orona Photography
Louies Flower has been shipped from Oaklawn Park to the Evangeline Downs Training Center to prepare for the Southwest Stakes.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A quartet of Oaklawn Park-based 3-year-olds targeting Monday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest have temporarily moved to the Evangeline Downs Training Center near Lafayette, La., to outrun the winter weather that forced the cancellation of last week’s live racing and stripped horsemen of four days of training.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 12:06

Golden Gate Fields notes: Tamarando super sub for El Camino Real Derby

Shigeki Kikkawa
Tamarando won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, then ran third as a heavy favorite in the Golden State Juvenile.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is finding out it’s good to have a deep bench.

Hollendorfer, who trains last year’s champion 2-year-old Shared Belief, recently learned that his undefeated 3-year-old Exit Stage Left was injured and would miss Saturday’s Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

No problem.

Mon, 02/10/2014 - 14:41

Aqueduct: Noble Moon likely to skip Gotham Stakes

Michael Amoruso
Noble Moon, ridden for the first time by Irad Ortiz Jr., scores by two lengths in the Jerome for 3-year-olds.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While she didn’t completely rule it out, trainer Leah Gyarmati said Monday that it is unlikely Jerome Stakes winner Noble Moon will make the Grade 3, $500,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 1.

It is more likely that Noble Moon will train up to the $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 5, Gyarmati said.

Mon, 02/10/2014 - 10:14

Steve Davidowitz's Robert B. Lewis Stakes analysis

Shigeki Kikkawa
With Gary Stevens riding, Candy Boy wins the Robert B. Lewis on Saturday.

Grade 2, $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita, Feb. 8
(10 Kentucky Derby eligibility points to the winner, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

This was an important mid-winter test for highly regarded, lightly raced prospects for the Santa Anita Derby on April 5 and possibly the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs May 3.

Candy Boy, who had finished second to 2-year-old champion Shared Belief in the 2013 CashCall Futurity Dec. 14, made an impressive 3-year-old debut in this race.

Sun, 02/09/2014 - 14:39

Santa Anita: Shared Belief resumes exercising after quarter crack

Shigeki Kikkawa
Shared Belief, winner of the recent CashCall Futurity, is part of a strong group of West Coast 3-year-olds of 2014.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Shared Belief, the champion 2-year-old male of 2013, resumed light exercise over the weekend after missing almost a month of training because of a quarter crack.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Shared Belief jogged at Santa Anita on Saturday and Sunday. A patch was placed on Shared Belief’s right front foot earlier in the week. Hollendorfer postponed Shared Belief’s return to the racetrack from Friday to Saturday because of wet conditions Friday morning from a rainstorm Thursday.