Wed, 03/16/2016 - 15:41

New York-bred turf veterans warming up for another season

Barbara D. Livingston
King Kreesa is pointing for the Grade 1 Shadwell Mile and will bypass the Ashley T. Cole for statebreds next Sunday.

It looks as though King Kreesa, Kharafa, and Lubash – the New York-bred version of the Sunshine Boys – are preparing to tee it up again in 2016.

The 7-year-old King Kreesa, an eight-time stakes winner, worked a half-mile in 51.75 seconds over the Belmont Park training track Wednesday. King Kreesa had two three-furlong breezes at J.J. Crupi’s farm in Ocala, Fla., before shipping up. King Kreesa hasn’t run since finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile last October at Keeneland.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 15:40

Arkansas native brought O'Neill, Reddam together

Barbara D. Livingston
Owner Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O'Neill have Ralis in Saturday's Rebel Stakes.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Doug O’Neill might not have won a Kentucky Derby at this point in his career were it not for a man who grew up just a few miles from Oaklawn Park.

Mark Schlesinger asked friend Paul Reddam to partner with him on a horse he planned to claim and have with O’Neill more than a decade ago in Southern California. It was the first time Reddam, who was already in racing, had any dealings with O’Neill.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 15:36

Ahh Chocolate launches season on familiar ground in Esplanade

Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
Ahh Chocolate, shown winning the Falls City Handicap, is training at Fair Grounds towards a start in the Azeri at Oaklawn.

Ahh Chocolate began her successful 2015 campaign with a win in New Orleans, and her connections hope to launch an even better 2016 season in the $50,000 Esplanade Stakes on Friday at Fair Grounds.

The 4-year-old Ahh Chocolate is among eight fillies and mares entered to race one mile and 70 yards on dirt in the Esplanade, an overnight stakes that goes as race 8 of 10 on Friday. She figures to go favored for owner-breeder Stoneway Farm, trainer Neil Howard, and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. over the Florida shipper Savings Account.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 15:26

Rainbow 6 could hit $4 million by Friday

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Four of the six races in Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will be decided on turf. The best of those six events, however, will be run on dirt – a starter optional claimer at six furlongs that drew a field of eight topped by Strong Composition, Homespun Hero, Wildcat Wish, and the speedy Armando Big.

With a pool of $3.2 million going into Wednesday’s card, the Rainbow 6 jackpot is likely to exceed $4 million for Friday if no one hits it before then.

A mandatory distribution of the Rainbow 6 is scheduled for Saturday, March 26.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 15:16

Bar of Gold starts season in ambitious spot

Barbara D. Livingston
Bar of Gold figures as a prime contender in Saturday's Raven Run for 3-year-old fillies.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A field of 10 older fillies and mares will hook up in Saturday’s Grade 2 Inside Information, led by Stonetastic, who will try to get back to the Breeders’ Cup for a third consecutive time later this year. Stonetastic will face Bar of Gold, Engaginglee, Flutterby, Tiger Ride, You Bought Her, Dogwood Trail and the Marty Wolfson-trained trio of Best Behavior, Kiss to Remember, and Miss Melinda.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 14:56

Momameamaria easy to read by paddock manners

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Momameamaria usually runs well if she's calm in the paddock before she races.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If you want to get an idea of how Momameamaria will perform in Saturday’s $125,000 Correction Stakes at Aqueduct, pay close attention to her behavior prior to the race.

Momameamaria came into a high-priced optional-claiming event here Feb. 11 following back-to-back wins. After showing some early speed, she retreated to finish a well-beaten fourth, 15 3/4 lengths behind Paulassilverlining, the probable Correction favorite.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 14:40

Alter not sorry he waited on Apologynotaccepted

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – March is only halfway over, and it has already produced two spectacular performances here by horses making their debuts. The first came from the 3-year-old filly Lightstream, who earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure on March 6, and the second by a 5-year-old mare named Apologynotaccepted, who ran off the screen to a 16-length triumph on March 11.

Apologynotaccepted is owned by her breeder, the former trainer Happy Alter, who showed remarkable patience before finally getting her to the races at the age of 5.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 12:56

Pick five carryover of $30K for Friday

After not being hit last Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the pick five at Laurel Park will have a carryover of $30,341 for Friday’s card.

The sequence will be on races 5-9 and includes two solid optional-claiming races, a first-level race at six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies and a third-level race at 5 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares.

The other races are a $15,000 claimer for 3-year-old fillies, a $40,000 maiden claimer for 3-year-old fillies, and a restricted $5,000 claimer for fillies and mares.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 12:46

Always Sunshine, Abiding Star light up Allard barn

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Always Sunshine, trained by Ned Allard, wins the Dave's Friend at Laurel in December.

Since moving his stable to the Mid-Atlantic from New England in 1990, trainer Ned Allard has won 85 stakes. He won a similar number in two decades up north after taking out his trainer’s license in 1970.

But in recent years, the flow of stakes horses to Allard’s barn has slowed, and when Always Sunshine won the Dave’s Friend at Laurel in December, it was Allard’s first stakes victory in five years.

Wed, 03/16/2016 - 12:16

Denman's Call, Toew's On Ice to clash in San Pedro

Benoit & Associates
Toews On Ice is one of 14 horses entered for Monday's $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Denman’s Call and Toews On Ice are expected to head the field Sunday at Santa Anita in the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds that was canceled March 11 when rain forced the cancellation of that day’s final three races.

Denman’s Call was third to Nyquist and Exaggerator in the San Vicente Stakes, his second lifetime start. Toews On Ice is turning back to a sprint after a sixth-place finish two months ago in the one-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park.