HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Dale Romans threw some fighting words into the Arkansas Derby mix on Monday when he confirmed the front-running Unbridled Outlaw for the Grade 1, $1 million race Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
“Cupid’s arrow will not be able to reach him,” said Romans.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The good news is that Lewis Bay won Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle and came out of the race well. The bad news is that that win earns her a shot in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks, where she will have to take on the undefeated Songbird, who may just be the best 3-year-old of either gender.
“It’s a tall order, but it’s a horse race, and it’s a big purse, and it’s a prestigious race,” trainer Chad Brown said Sunday. “If Lewis Bay’s healthy, she’ll give it a try.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Salutos Amigos came out of his narrow victory over Calculator in Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter Handicap a little tired but otherwise okay, trainer and part-owner David Jacobson said Sunday.
The seven-furlong Carter was the eighth stakes victory for Salutos Amigos but his first in a Grade 1 from eight tries. The 6-year-old gelding is now 12 for 32 with earnings of more than $1.5 million.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The connections of Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes winner Unified will give their 3-year-old a chance to stretch out in distance, but where and when that will happen is not a question easily answered.
Unified galloped to a three-length victory in Saturday’s $300,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong race at Aqueduct, making the colt 2 for 2. On Feb. 21, Unified won a six-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream Park.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tepin had her final work toward the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes when she breezed a half-mile Sunday at Churchill Downs in 48.40 seconds. “She worked extremely well, and all systems are go,” said trainer Mark Casse.
The Jenny Wiley is one of four stakes to be run here Saturday, along with the Lexington, Ben Ali, and Giant’s Causeway. Entries for Saturday will be drawn Wednesday, with Swipe, the runner-up to Nyquist in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here last fall, the top name for the Lexington.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Ashland Stakes was supposed to decide which 3-year-old fillies among Cathryn Sophia, Rachel’s Valentina, and Carina Mia would be the top challengers to Songbird when the 142nd Kentucky Oaks is run May 6 at Churchill Downs.
But as the Ashland went deep in the stretch Saturday at Keeneland, that aspect of the Oaks suddenly got fuzzier, not clearer. Weep No More swept past that tiring trio in the final yards to post a 30-1 stunner, and now fans are left to wonder just how low the Oaks odds on Songbird will go.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita finished its 63-day winter-spring meeting Sunday with a gain in attendance and declines in ontrack and all-sources handle.
Nate Newby, the track’s vice president of marketing, said attendance rose 8 percent at the meeting. All-sources handle, which includes simulcasting venues and account wagering, was down 1 percent, while ontrack handle fell 3 percent.
The track did not release extensive business figures after Sunday’s program.
As the sun rose Monday morning, Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist was allowed to gallop for the first time in more than a week.
"I let him go and I said, 'Have fun out there,'" said Jack Sisterson, assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill. "And he did."
With exercise rider Jonny Garcia aboard, Nyquist jogged a lap and galloped a lap of Keeneland's main track. It was his first gallop since winning the Florida Derby on April 2 to remain unbeaten in seven career starts.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Pacific Heat and Tough It Out, winners of California-bred stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, are likely to stay in the comfort of the statebred 3-year-old division for their next starts, their trainers said on Sunday.
Peter Eurton said Pacific Heat, who won her third stakes in the $200,345 Evening Jewel Stakes for fillies, will be pointed for the $200,000 Melair Stakes for Cal-bred 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on May 28.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The warm reception that greeted Songbird when she returned to the winner’s circle after Saturday’s $400,345 Santa Anita Oaks caught the attention of Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
“I noticed that,” Hollendorfer said on Sunday morning, breaking into a grin.
Lately, Hollendorfer has had plenty of reasons to smile about Songbird, the undefeated champion 2-year-old filly of 2015. Her win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks solidifies her status as the favorite for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.
