Tue, 08/12/2014 - 12:01

Little Alexis will ship to Parx for Cotillion next

Kenny Martin/Coglianese Photos
Little Alexis will start next in Parx Racing's Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes on Sept. 20.

Gulfstream Park-based owner-trainer Carlo Vaccarezza said he intends to send Little Alexis to Parx Racing near Philadelphia for her next start in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes, a Grade 1 race Sept. 20 that is expected to draw divisional leader Untapable and other top fillies such as Sweet Reason and My Miss Sophia.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:57

Gulfstream notes: Another Rainbow 6 jackpot available Thursday

The “seed” money Gulfstream Park is using for its 20-cent Rainbow 6 continues to make the wager viable. One winner took down a windfall of $40,807 last Thursday, after which a total of more than $96,000 was wagered over the next three days.

Accounting for takeout and consolation payoffs along the way, the guaranteed jackpot remains $50,000 as another four-day week resumes Thursday with a 10-race card. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern, with the Rainbow 6 starting with race 5 (post 3:21).

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:52

The speedy Reneesgotzip strides toward 2014 debut

Justin N. Lane
Reneesgotzip, who runs Sunday in the Rancho Bernardo, is targeting a third straight try at the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The workouts, speed figures, and visual impressions convey the same message about Reneesgotzip, the four-time stakes winner who makes her 2014 debut in Sunday’s $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar.

Reneesgotzip is a brilliant sprinter.

But her hard-charging style can take a toll.

“She’s too fast for her own good,” trainer Peter Miller said last weekend.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:44

Atreides will make first stakes start in Monarchos

Coglianese Photos
Atreides will make his next start in the Aug. 30 Monarchos Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Atreides will make his next start Aug. 30 in the Monarchos Stakes at Gulfstream Park after the highly regarded Stonestreet Stables colt easily rolled through his first allowance condition Sunday at the south Florida track.

Atreides, a 3-year-old colt by Medaglia d’Oro, remains unbeaten in two career starts after winning the 6 1/2-furlong race by three lengths as the 1-10 favorite. He recorded an eye-catching 105 Beyer Speed Figure in his July 12 debut at six furlongs.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:32

King's Bishop next spot for Wildcat Red

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Wildcat Red will go in the seven-furlong King's Bishop instead of the 1 1/4-mile Travers.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wildcat Red shipped in from Monmouth Park on Monday to begin preparations for the Grade 1 King’s Bishop on Aug. 23.

Wildcat Red is also nominated to the 1 1/4-mile Travers, but trainer Jose Garoffalo said the seven-furlong King’s Bishop just makes more sense for him. Wildcat Red, who won the Grade 3 Hutcheson at seven furlongs and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth going 1 1/16 miles this winter at Gulfstream Park, is coming off a third-place finish in the Haskell Invitational.

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 11:21

Strapping Groom to bypass Forego defense

Barbara D. Livingston
David Jacobson is looking for a prep to get Strapping Groom ready for the Aug. 31 Forego.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Last year’s Forego winner, Strapping Groom, will not return to defend his title later this month, said trainer David Jacobson. Strapping Groom, idle since finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 5, worked five furlongs in 1:07 here Tuesday.

“He had some troubles with his feet after the Carter, and it would just be too much to ask of him off the layoff to run in the Forego without a race, without any foundation,” said Jacobson. “He’d already had two races up here last year before he won the Forego.”

Tue, 08/12/2014 - 10:27

Three champions compete in All American Derby trials

The three champion 2-year-old Quarter Horses of 2013 are among 96 horses running in 12 time trials on Saturday for the $1,920,887 All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs.

The horses with the 10 fastest times, regardless of finishing positions, will qualify for the 440-yard final on Aug. 31. All 12 races at Ruidoso Downs on Saturday are time trials.

Mon, 08/11/2014 - 15:20

Hardest Core gets his shot at big time in Million

Tom Keyser
Hardest Core will be 43-year-old trainer Eddie Graham's first starter in a Grade 1.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The 43-year-old Pennsylvania-based trainer Eddie Graham never has started a horse in a graded stakes race, but Graham is jumping into the deep end. He said Monday that Hardest Core will make his next start in the Arlington Million on Saturday.

Mon, 08/11/2014 - 15:05

Pierce's old-school training approach benefits Up With the Birds

Michael Burns
Up With the Birds wins the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes on July 19 at Woodbine.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Malcolm Pierce smokes. You can hear it in his raspy voice beneath the heavy Canadian accent. He’ll shake a cigarette out of a pack while sitting on his pony in front of the Fair Grounds clocker’s stand during the winter, watching his stock go around. Contemporary attitudes stamp smoking as archaic. Fine. Pierce, 57, is that kind of old school.

He came to Woodbine from a small town in 1981 and got work with trainer Jim Day. He moved up to assistant and stuck with Day for 14 years. As far as Pierce is concerned, what he saw then still works now.

Mon, 08/11/2014 - 14:58

Saratoga Special, Adirondack winners eye Grade 1 races

Tom Keyser
Saratoga Special winner I Spent It could run next in the Grade 1 Champagne on Oct. 4.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – I Spent It and Cavorting, the winners of Sunday’s Grade 2 juvenile stakes at Saratoga, both came out of their races in good order, and now their connections will ponder whether to give them a Grade 1 opportunity sooner or later.