ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The unstoppable sprinter Pink Lloyd heads Saturday’s $100,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes, the feature on opening day of the 133-day Woodbine meet, which is scheduled to wrap up Dec. 16.
The meet highlights include the 159th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30; the Grade 1, $800,000 Woodbine Mile on Sept. 15; and the Grade 1, $800,000 Canadian International on Oct. 13.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Saturday’s $100,000 Woodhaven Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf drew a field of only five, led by Archaggelos, the winner of last fall’s Grade 3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine.
Archaggelos, a son of Temple City trained by Michael Dickinson, finished 11th of 12 in the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in March. He will be running on turf for the first time since he won a maiden race on grass last September at Laurel.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Great Stuff finished third in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct on April 7, and wherever he runs next, he figures to get some class relief since he won’t have to face Carter winner Army Mule.
Trainer David Jacobson said he is considering several options for Great Stuff, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester at Belmont Park on May 5. That race is at a mile.
Jacobson said Great Stuff was “too far back” in the Carter, at seven furlongs. “That’s why I think a mile could be good for him,” he said. “He could lay close.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After turning in a recent work her trainer Ralph Nicks called “outstanding” and “fun to watch,” juvenile filly champion Caledonia Road is getting close to her much-anticipated 3-year-old debut, a race that will serve as a prep for her first major goal of the year, the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park on June 9.
Caledonia Road was absent from the work tab for nearly a month before turning in a half-mile breeze in 48.20 seconds last week at the Palm Meadows training center, where she’s been based since returning to Nicks early this winter.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – My Miss Lilly stepped up her preparation for the Kentucky Oaks by working four furlongs in 49.65 seconds Wednesday over the Belmont Park training track.
My Miss Lilly worked in company with Inalienable Rights, a stakes-placed 3-year-old gelding. It was the first work for My Miss Lilly since she won the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct on April 7 to punch her ticket to the Oaks, set for May 4 at Churchill Downs.
“I didn’t want her go in 52 by herself, and I figured I’d put something inside of her, give her something to focus on,” trainer Mark Hennig said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 winners Ransom the Moon and What a View are among the projected starters in graded stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Ransom the Moon, unraced since a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November, is part of a likely small field in the Grade 2 Kona Gold Stakes, a $200,000 race at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Trained by Phil D’Amato, Ransom the Moon won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar last July. Other expected runners in the Kona Gold Stakes are Bobby Abu Dhabi, Calculator, and Ten Blessings.
Laurel Park has five stakes Saturday, topped by the final local preps for the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan.
The winner of the $125,000 Federico Tesio, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, will be assured entrance into the Grade 1, $1.5 million Preakness on May 19, and his owner will save $30,000 in entry and starter fees. The Tesio entrants include Diamond King, whom trainer John Servis would like to see advance to the Preakness, and Still Having Fun, a two-time local stakes winner, both for Tim Keefe.
The Grade 2, $1.2 million Charles Town Classic on Saturday has a distinctly Florida feel. Diversify, War Story, Fear the Cowboy, and You’re to Blame all have headed north from their winter digs in the Sunshine State.
When post positions were drawn Wednesday, race favorite Diversify landed post 6, and likely second choice War Story drew post 5. The seven-horse field also includes the sharp Maryland shippers Afleet Willy (post 7) and Something Awesome (post 4), plus Fear the Cowboy (post 1), Discreet Lover (post 3), and You’re to Blame (post 2).
