Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:26

Sherlock ganging up on Run Away in Barretts Futurity

Benoit & Associates
Run Away, by Run Away and Hide, wins the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar.

CYPRESS, Calif. – Run Away, who finished third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 4, will be a heavy favorite in Saturday’s $100,000 Barretts Juvenile at Los Alamitos, a race rival trainer Gary Sherlock is approaching with numbers.

Sherlock said Wednesday morning that he intends to run two horses – Smokem, who finished second in two stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds at Del Mar, and the maiden Time for Cioppino.

Terry Lovingier bred both runners and owns Smokem in a partnership. Lovingier owns Time for Cioppino with Sherlock.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:20

Apprentice jockey Werner sidelined eight weeks with broken collarbone

Apprentice jockey Laura Werner faces approximately eight weeks of recovery after suffering a broken collarbone in a spill Sunday at Los Alamitos, according to her agent, Carolyn Conley.

Werner, 21, was unseated when Dressed in Prada stumbled a few strides away from the gate in Sunday’s third race. Werner was hospitalized briefly on Sunday and was scheduled to have surgery Thursday to have a plate and screw placed in the collarbone to stabilize the injury, Conley said in a text message.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:20

Turf is in California Diamond's future

Barbara D. Livingston
California Diamond will seek his fifth career stakes victory in the Echo Eddie for California-bred 3-year-old sprinters.

California Diamond, a four-time stakes winner on dirt, looks like he is about to switch surfaces.

Trainer Peter Miller said Tuesday that California Diamond may run in the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course Sept. 29 at Santa Anita. The $100,000 Eddie D Stakes is the feature race on the opening day of the track’s autumn meeting.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:16

Midnight Storm using Awesome Again as stepping-stone to Breeders' Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Midnight Storm finished second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in his last start.

Midnight Storm is likely to run in a one-mile race during the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3-4 at Del Mar. A start in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on dirt Sept. 30 at Santa Anita could determine whether the BC Dirt Mile or BC Mile on turf is chosen for the seven-time stakes winner.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:16

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Lady Eli to face challengers from far and wide

Ronnie Betor
Ballston Spa winner Lady Eli may not make another start prior to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Nov. 4.

Last year, in one of the more thrilling Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita, Lady Eli was edged a nose by the European Queen’s Trust in the Filly and Mare Turf. The loss denied Lady Eli a second Breeders’ Cup triumph, following a score in the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2014.

When the Filly and Mare Turf is renewed Nov. 4 at Del Mar, once again Lady Eli is likely to face challengers from abroad. Already, two European fillies, Ashiana and Hydrangea, have earned free berths by winning Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, and another, Birdie Gold, did so by winning a stakes race in Peru.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:10

Motion may try Ascend on dirt

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Graham Motion may give Grade 1 Manhattan winner Ascend a start on dirt in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Trainer Graham Motion is considering one of two races at Belmont Park for Grade 1 Manhattan winner Ascend.

Ascend could start in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch, a 1 1/2-mile turf race on Sept. 30, but he also is thinking of waiting a week and switching Ascend to dirt in the Grade 1, 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup.

:: Get firsthand workout observations for fall racing at Belmont Park

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:10

Hawksmoor will start next in Keeneland's First Lady

Debra A. Roma
Hawksmoor will try for her third graded stakes win of the year and first career Grade 1 in Keeneland's First Lady.

Trainer Arnaud Delacour bypassed the Grade 2 Canadian at Woodbine last Saturday with Hawksmoor and is pointing her to the Grade 1, $400,000 First Lady at Keeneland. The one-mile turf race will be run Oct. 7.

Delacour opted for the First Lady because Hawksmoor ran well over the Keeneland course in the Queen Elizabeth II while making her United States debut last fall. She finished third, beaten a head by Time and Motion and Harmonize in that race after leading in the stretch.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:00

Ferrer, Carrasco recuperating from spill

Jockeys Jose Ferrer and Victor Carrasco are recovering from serious injuries sustained in a five-horse spill at Delaware Park on Sept. 14.

Carrasco, 25, the leading rider at the Laurel Park summer meet, broke his lower right leg in several places. He had surgery Friday and is recuperating at home.

Ferrer, 53, was in the midst of an excellent season prior to the spill. He finished second in the Monmouth Park standings and has 104 victories and a 21 percent win average for the year.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:00

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Capla Temptress has travel plans booked

Emily Shields
Capla Temptress and jockey Joel Rosario win the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes by three-quarters of a length.

Capla Temptress is a 2-year-old filly on the go these days.

An Irish-bred, Capla Temptress was sent from England to Canada for last Sunday’s Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine. She performed brilliantly, closing from seventh in a field of nine to win for the third time in four starts.

On Tuesday, she was vanned to trainer Bill Mott’s stable in New York. At the end of October, if all goes well, Capla Temptress will be sent to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:56

Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Romans, Albaugh due for a win

Coady Photography
Dak Attack was a three-length winner of Sunday's Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In 2015, trainer Dale Romans and owner Dennis Albaugh finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Brody’s Cause. Last year, that same trainer-owner combination finished second in the Juvenile with Not This Time.

“The pattern says we win this year,” Romans said. “You got to think positive.”