Girvin lost a heart-breaking head bob to Irap in the June 24 Ohio Derby, but he has flourished since that race, according to trainer Joe Sharp, and settled in nicely at Saratoga. He’s one of a handful of contenders Sunday in a salty renewal of the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park.

The Ohio Derby was Girvin’s first start in seven weeks, following the Kentucky Derby. He tracked the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race and then moved up to challenge for the lead nearing the far turn when a horse came up inside him at the same time another advanced to his outside.

The Haskell Invitational, which will be run for the 50th time Sunday, has long been known for luring the stars of the 3-year-old division to Monmouth Park. But this year is different, and the race’s strength instead comes from its depth.

That the Haskell has lured such an interesting group is quite an accomplishment since division leader Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing are staying at Saratoga for the Jim Dandy. The race also will be without trainers Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher, two of the Haskell’s biggest supporters.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday could have its largest field in nearly a decade if all nine projected runners start in the $300,000 race at six furlongs.

Entries were scheduled to be taken Wednesday, with a strong field expected, including Drefong, the champion sprinter of 2016. Other candidates are Big Macher, Denman’s Call, Kobe’s Back, Moe Candy, Ransom the Moon, Roy H, Solid Wager, and St. Joe Bay.

There were nine runners in the 2008 Bing Crosby. Since then, the race has drawn from five to eight runners.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Two-time champion Songbird breezed a half-mile in 48.60 seconds Wednesday at Del Mar, her first workout since a win in the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap on July 15.

After the workout, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said no race plans have been finalized for Songbird, who is unbeaten in two starts this year, having also won the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes on June 10 at Belmont Park.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey David Flores is retiring this weekend.

Flores said Wednesday that he plans to ride at least through Friday at Del Mar, and possibly through the weekend, before relocating to Ocala, Fla., to begin a training operation focused on pinhooking yearlings.

Flores has spent time working in a similar capacity in Florida in recent years, but said he wants to train full time. He said he could have runners at Florida’s racetracks in 2018.

Trainer Chris Hartman said this week he is still undecided on the next start for Wilbo, who was along in time under leading jockey Corey Lanerie to win the $50,000 Don Bernhardt Stakes as the 6-5 favorite last Saturday at Ellis Park. Wilbo, a 5-year-old Candy Ride gelding, now has won 7 of 20 starts and $332,396, all for owner Chris Wilkins.

“We’ll have to map out something for him,” said Hartman. “He’s just a really neat horse to train.”

$170 debut winner runs back

Trainer Doris Harwood said Little Dancer came out of her $27.40 upset win in the $79,250 Washington Oaks last Sunday in excellent shape and is being considered for the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks at Hastings on Sept. 9. She is eligible for the $25,000 bonus that goes to the winner of both races.

“We are certainly looking at coming up there,” said Harwood, who won the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings with Winning Machine in 2009.

Harwood wasn’t surprised by Little Dancer’s gutsy win over Daddyalwayssays in the Washington Oaks.

It was five years ago next week that Brad Cox got a phone call from an attorney informing him that 30 horses owned by his only client were being removed from his Churchill Downs barn.

The split with Midwest Thoroughbreds taught Cox not to put all his eggs in one basket. He found himself in full rebuild mode during that first week of August 2012.

“It all seems like such a long time ago now,” Cox recalled by phone this week from Saratoga. “I was disappointed, I guess you could say. I decided it was time to go out and recruit some horses.”

Trainer Donna Hurtak was pleased to report that Conquest Big E came out of his seven-length win in the $50,000 Coast Is Clear Handicap last Sunday in excellent shape and will be pointed to the Grade 3, $100,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes on Aug. 26 at Monmouth Park.

“He’s doing great,” Hurtak said. “He’s very proud of himself right now. When I come to his stall in the mornings, he has his ears pricked and is eager to do something. He’s just full of life.”

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar reported strong handle figures and no catastrophic injuries for the first week of racing, a far more encouraging start to the meet than last summer, when a rash of fatalities set a tone from which the meet never fully recovered.

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