Fri, 09/22/2017 - 07:30

Few changes to Fair Grounds stake schedule

Fair Grounds on Thursday released a stakes schedule for its 2017-2018 race meet that looks very much like the 2016-2017 stakes schedule at the historic New Orleans track.

This season’s schedule includes 57 stakes worth $6.69 million; last season, there were 60 stakes worth $6.79 million.

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 16:00

Undercard stakes could steal the show from Sire Stakes

The finales of the open and filly divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes series, the $400,000 In Reality and My Dear Girl Stakes, will highlight next Saturday’s program at Gulfstream Park. But from the looks of the nominations released Thursday, the four undercard stakes figure to be just as attractive, featuring full and competitive fields in each event.

All four – two for older horses and two for juveniles – are scheduled for the turf.

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 15:16

Paulassilverlining, By the Moon skipping Gallant Bloom

Justin N. Lane
Grade 1 Ballerina winner By the Moon will train up to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 4.

Add Paulassilverlining and By the Moon to the list of horses that will train up to the Breeders’ Cup.

Neither one was entered Thursday for Sunday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap, a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

Trainer Chad Brown said he felt Paulassilverlining’s fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Ballerina last month may have been a result of having too hard a race when she won the Grade 2 Honorable Miss a month earlier.

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 13:46

Dortmund drills a mile ahead of Awesome Again Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Dortmund will return to dirt after finishing sixth in his turf debut on March 11.

Dortmund, the Grade 1-winning millionaire who was briefly retired in the spring, worked a mile in 1:41.80 at Los Alamitos on Thursday for a scheduled start in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30.

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Thu, 09/21/2017 - 13:46

Paradise Woods targets Zenyatta Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Paradise Woods finished 11th in the Kentucky Oaks this year.

Paradise Woods, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in April but soundly beaten in her last two starts, will have her debut against older fillies and mares in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30.

Trainer Richard Mandella said on Thursday that he prefers the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for the 3-year-old Paradise Woods over the Grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 8. The distance of the Zenyatta was a leading factor, he said.

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 12:06

Cloud Computing sidelined by ankle chip

Debra A. Roma
Cloud Computing gave paternal grandsire Distorted Humor another classic winner for his line's resume by winning the 142nd Preakness.

ELMONT,N.Y. – Cloud Computing, the Preakness winner, will be sidelined the remainder of the year due to a chip in a front ankle, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday morning.

Cloud Computing had the chip surgically removed by Dr. Larry Bramlage earlier this week. The horse will recuperate at Dell Ridge Farm in Kentucky before joining Brown’s stable in south Florida this winter to prepare for a 4-year-old campaign.

The chip was discovered after Cloud Computing worked a half-mile in 48.68 seconds last Saturday at Belmont Park.

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 10:22

Breeders' Cup Classic shaping up as three-horse showdown

Barbara D. Livingston
Gun Runner galloped to a 10 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga.

DEL MAR, Calif. – A track next to the ocean in a tony suburban community hardly seems the place for an old-fashioned Western shootout. That’s supposed to take place in some dusty town, where the people and the liquor are hard.

But this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic is shaping up as a showdown for Horse of the Year, with Arrogate, Collected, and Gun Runner all pointing to the race, each with a legitimate shot at the year-end title. Ready. Aim. Fire your best shot.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 21:27

Jose Ortiz off mounts through the weekend after injuring knee in spill

Barbara D. Livingston
Jose Ortiz will mostly ride at Gulfstream Park through Florida Derby Day on April 1.

Jockey Jose Ortiz will take off his scheduled mounts Thursday through the weekend as a result of a knee injury sustained in a spill Wednesday at Belmont Park.

The extent of the injury will not be known until Ortiz gets an MRI, his agent, Jim Riccio Jr., said Wednesday night. The good news is X-rays taken on Ortiz’s left knee did not reveal any fractures.

“He had a hard time putting weight on it when the doctor told him to,” Riccio said. “It could be just soreness but we won’t know until we get the MRI. He’s not going to ride the rest of the week.”

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 15:46

Phat Man may invade for Commonwealth

Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Phat Man went from last to first in the Long Branch Stakes on Saturday.

Phat Man is being considered for a stakes at Laurel Park, trainer Joe Sharp said. The runner-up from the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, Phat Man is nominated to the Grade 3, $200,000 Commonwealth, a 1 1/8-mile turf race on Sept. 30.

The Super Derby was run on turf for the first time this year, and Phat Man set the pace in the 1 1/16-mile race on Sept. 9. Earlier this year, he won the $100,000 Long Branch on the main track at Monmouth Park.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 15:40

Colonelsdarktemper firing bullets for Oklahoma Derby

Coady Photography
Colonelsdarktemper paid $16 in winning the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer on Saturday.

West Virginia Derby winner Colonelsdarktemper has fired three consecutive bullet works for the Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sunday, with his latest five-eighths in 59.60 seconds. The move was the fastest of 41 at the distance Sunday at Churchill Downs, but it was significant for more than its speed.

“We put him behind a horse, made him eat dirt so if he gets caught in that trap and we’re shuffled back he won’t mind the dirt so bad now,” said trainer Jinks Fires.