Wed, 08/02/2017 - 13:56

Arindel runners have Gold loaded for Florida Sire Stakes

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Stanley Gold is as resilient as he is disciplined. A strict vegetarian for nearly 50 years, Gold has landed on his feet since being abruptly dismissed in April 2016 by his longtime client, the Jacks or Better Farm of Fred Brei.

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 13:20

Gunnevera set for return in Tangelo Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Gunnevera gallops 1 1/2 miles at Pimlico on Tuesday.

The Florida Sire Stakes events will be overshadowed to a certain extent this weekend by the eagerly awaited comeback of Gunnevera, the locally based standout whose star lost some luster with off-the-board finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Gunnevera will be a heavy favorite Sunday in the $100,000 Tangelo Stakes as part of a small field of 3-year-olds.

Trainer Antonio Sano said Wednesday that he has been very pleased with how Gunnevera has matured and filled out since the colt finished fifth in the May 20 Preakness.

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 11:16

Oaklawn Park boosts purse of Apple Blossom Handicap

The purse of the Apple Blossom Handicap has been raised to $700,000 in the most significant change to the 31-race stakes schedule for the Oaklawn Park meet that opens Jan. 12. Last season, the race was worth $600,000 when won by champion Stellar Wind.

Oaklawn’s stakes calendar, which features four races offering Kentucky Derby qualifying points, will be worth a track-record $8.53 million in 2018.

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:20

Point Piper targets Longacres Mile repeat

Reed and Erin Palmer/Emerald Downs
Point Piper, shown winning the Longacres Mile, may be the best of the rivals California Chrome will face on Saturday.

Point Piper will be back to try to repeat in the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs on Aug. 13.

With Mario Gutierrez aboard last year, Point Piper came from well back to win by 4 3/4 lengths while establishing a track record of 1:32.90 for the one-mile distance.

Point Piper hasn’t won since, but he was the runner-up to California Chrome in the $180,000 Winter Challenge at Los Alamitos on Dec. 17, and he also finished second to the Grade 2 winner Midnight Storm in the Grade 3 Native Diver at Del Mar on Nov. 27.

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:16

Arrogate works his way into Pacific Classic

Emily Shields
Arrogate will 'be ready for the Pacific Classic,' trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert likens what happened to Arrogate in the San Diego Handicap to American Pharoah when he got beat in the Travers Stakes two years ago.

“We have to figure out what we did wrong and adjust,” Baffert said Tuesday. “It’s like being in the locker room at halftime and making adjustments.”

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:10

Mandella waxes Poetic after debut score

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Richard Mandella came to Del Mar with a promising group of 2-year-old fillies and got his first win with them on Sunday, when Poetic tallied in her debut going 5 1/2 furlongs, a performance that likely will put her in the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 2, Mandella said.

“She trained like a classy filly,” Mandella said. “I thought she might need further, but it was enough. We never zinged her in a work. She was smart enough. She made us think there was even more.”

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:10

Medaglia Gold earns shot at Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf

DEL MAR, Calif. – Medaglia Gold stretched out around two turns, added blinkers, and moved to turf for the third start of her career last Saturday, and her front-running, runaway victory against 2-year-old maiden fillies earned her a spot in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf on Sept. 4, trainer Cliff Sise Jr. said.

Medaglia Gold ran sixth in her first start and seventh in her second start, both times sprinting on dirt at Santa Anita.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 19:10

Keen Ice has another giant in his sights

Barbara D. Livingston
Keen Ice had lost 10 consecutive starts since August 2015.

Keen Ice doesn’t win very often but when he does it’s usually in spectacular fashion.

In 2015, he pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he ran by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. It took nearly two years and 11 races to win again, something he did in last month’s Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park where he knocked off the heavily favored Shaman Ghost.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:47

Ankle injury puts Paid Up Subcriber's career in jeopardy

Debra A. Roma
Paid up Subscriber took his first victory in 13 months with Sunday's Shuvee Handicap.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The euphoria of Paid Up Subscriber’s 32 1/2-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap at Saratoga didn’t last long, as the 5-year-old mare came out of the race with a fractured right front ankle and her racing future is uncertain, trainer Chad Brown said Tuesday.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:25

Strong work by Arrogate puts him in Pacific Classic

Emily Shields
Arrogate following his defeat in the San Diego Handicap on July 22, 2017.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Arrogate - the Arrogate who was ranked as the best horse in the world, not the Arrogate who sleepwalked through the San Diego Handicap on July 22 - was back on the track on Tuesday at Del Mar with a sharp half-mile workout that left his trainer, Bob Baffert, both smiling broadly and breathing a sigh of relief.

“He looked good today," Baffert said after Arrogate worked a half-mile in 47.20 seconds under jockey Martin Garcia. "He was floating over the track."