SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Midway down the backstretch of the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26, Kid Cruz was last of six runners – not surprising, perhaps, given his past-performance lines. But given that Kid Cruz had broken on top under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and was with the leaders entering the first turn, his position as the trailer was disconcerting to trainer Linda Rice.
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Speaking from Canterbury Park, trainer Robertino Diodoro said that Edison came out of his romp in the Grade 3, $195,720 Canadian Derby at Northlands Park last Saturday in good shape.
Diodoro plans to ship Edison on Wednesday from Northlands to Canterbury, where he will be pointed toward the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby on Sept. 13. Plan B is the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sept. 28. If Edison runs in the one-mile Mystic Lake Derby, he would be returning to turf. Last year, Diodoro won the Oklahoma Derby with Canadian Derby winner Broadway Empire.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Will Take Charge will skip the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes on Aug. 30 and point to the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Sept. 27, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Monday.
Will Take Charge, last year’s 3-year-old champion, is 1 for 6 this year, with the win coming in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April. Since then, Will Take Charge has lost three straight races, including a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Whitney here Aug. 2.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Bright Thought, the winner of the Grade 2 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita in 2013, was transferred from trainer Jorge Gutierrez to Phil D’Amato earlier this month and will start for the new stable in the $200,000 Del Mar Handicap on turf Saturday.
D’Amato, the former assistant to Mike Mitchell, is in his first year of training on his own.
DEL MAR, Calif. - When Irish Surf took a clear lead after a quarter-mile of the Grade 3 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar on July 25, he essentially won the marathon race a mile from the finish. It will be almost impossible to utilize the same strategy in the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 24.
Against a tougher field, and one loaded with horses that run or near the front, Irish Surf will have company early. Trainer Dan Hendricks said on Sunday that he was unsure whether he would tell jockey Elvis Trujillo to send Irish Surf early, or take a patient approach.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Pleased with the way Mr Speaker has trained on dirt over the last month, trainer Shug McGaughey on Sunday confirmed the multiple turf and synthetic stakes winner a starter for the $1.25 million Travers Stakes next Saturday at Saratoga.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -- What, after his stirring win in the Arlington Million, could Hardest Core possibly do for an encore?
The rest of the summer and the autumn will tell that tale, though the story of Hardest Core already reached an extremely satisfying denouement Saturday at Arlington.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- Istanford is likely to run in one-mile turf races, and possibly meet older fillies and mares this fall after winning her second consecutive stakes in Friday’s $96,350 Sandy Blue Handicap for 3-year-old fillies.
Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Istanford ($4.60) led throughout and won by 3 1/4 lengths over 16-1 Miss Machiavelli, finishing a mile on turf in 1:34.81. By the Gone West stallion Istan, Istanford won the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap over a mile on turf on July 19, the most prestigious win of her 11-race career.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Still unsure why Palace Malice ran so poorly in the Grade 1 Whitney two weeks ago, trainer Todd Pletcher equipped the multiple Grade 1 winner with blinkers for a workout on Saturday morning. Though Palace Malice worked a half-mile in 48.94 seconds, Pletcher said he is unsure whether he will use them on the colt in the Grade 1 Woodward on Aug. 30.
“Just wanted to try them again and see,” Pletcher said. "I always thought the horse was a possible candidate for blinkers. I thought he worked well, but he always works well. Hard to gauge.”
Two of the fastest works on Saturday’s monstrous main track work tab came from Florida invaders Fast Anna and C Zee, a couple of fleet 3-year-olds preparing for the Aug. 23 Grade 1 King’s Bishop.
Fast Anna was the first of the pair to go, zipping five furlongs in 58.61 off a 34.15 three-eighths split. C Zee went a half mile in 46.40 after posting a 21.78 opening quarter.
Trainer Kathy Ritvo said despite posting the bullet work, Fast Anna could hardly blow out a match by the time he got back to the barn.