Wed, 06/18/2014 - 14:34

Mother Goose loses Ria Antonia

Barbara D. Livingston
An issue with the medication Clenbuteral will prevent Ria Antonia from running in the June 28 Mother Goose Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With the presence of Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable, the field for the Grade 1, $300,000 Mother Goose at Belmont Park on June 28 figured to be short. It got a little shorter Wednesday, when the connections of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Ria Antonia had to cancel their planned trip to New York due to a medication issue.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 14:00

14 trials for Lee Berwick Futurity

Delta Downs in Vinton, La., has a card of 14 trial races Saturday night, all for the $662,650 Lee Berwick Futurity. The finale is July 12.

The Berwick, which is restricted to 2-year-olds bred in Louisiana, will be the richest Quarter Horse race in Delta history, , according to track representative Don Stevens.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 13:48

Far Niente fastest in Vessels Maturity trials

Far Niente, the winner of the Golden State Derby last August, is the fastest qualifier for the $163,100 Vessels Maturity at Los Alamitos on July 6, a race that will include Last to Fire, the 2013 World Champion Running Quarter Horse.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 13:44

Kiss My Hocks targets Rainbow Futurity

Kiss My Hocks, the nation’s leading 2-year-old Quarter Horse, is being pointed for the Rainbow Futurity trials at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico, said his trainer, Toby Keeton. The trials are July 3-4, with the Grade 1, $900,000 finale July 20.

Kiss My Hocks ran his record to 4 for 4 earlier this month, when he darted to a half-length win in the Grade 1, $700,000 Ruidoso Futurity. Kiss My Hocks led throughout, one start after winning his trial for the race by three lengths. His other successes include the Grade 2, $563,950 Sam Houston Futurity.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 13:32

Social Inclusion to get a rest

Barbara D. Livingston
Social Inclusion will get a break prior to launching the second half of his 3-year-old campaign.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Social Inclusion, a somewhat disappointing third as the even-money favorite behind runaway winner Bayern in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens on Belmont Stakes Day, is back home at Gulfstream Park, where he’s getting a bit of a break before launching the second half of his 3-year-old campaign July 27 at Monmouth Park in the Grade 1 Haskell.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 13:09

Moonshine Mullin thrills Kansas town

Reed Palmer Photography
Calvin Borel guides Moonshine Mullin to his second straight graded stakes victory in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster.

Mere seconds after Moonshine Mullin pulled his 10-1 upset Saturday night in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs, trainer Randy Morse stood all alone in the middle of the racetrack, waiting for his stable star to return.

Morse might have been imagining how all the folks back in Anthony, Kan., were behaving. Anthony, a horse-crazy town of fewer than 3,000 people on the state’s south-central border, is where owner Randy Patterson lives. Patterson claimed Moonshine Mullin for $40,000 in November.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 12:59

Central Banker pointed to Belmont Sprint Championship

Tom Keyser
Central Banker (right) defeats Shakin It Up in Grade 2 Churchill Downs. The pair may meet again in the Met Mile.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. will be back July 5 in New York to run Central Banker in one of the new races on the revised Belmont Park stakes schedule, the Grade 3, $400,000 Belmont Sprint Championship at seven furlongs.

Central Banker won the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on the Derby undercard, then was scratched from the Met Mile on the June 7 Belmont Stakes undercard because of a medication mix-up.

“I just kept him there in New York with my staff,” said Stall. “He’s doing good, ready to run.”

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 11:33

Wise Dan may return at Saratoga after colic surgery

Barbara D. Livingston
Seek Again (inside) duels with Wise Dan in Saturday's Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, could return to racing at Saratoga if things continue to go well for the 7-year-old gelding as he recovers from emergency colic surgery.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti said Wednesday he would consider the Aug. 9 Fourstardave Handicap as a return spot for Wise Dan but “might be more inclined” to take a more conservative route and wait for the Aug. 30 Bernard Baruch Handicap.

Tue, 06/17/2014 - 15:01

For Talamo, Santa Anita meet title within reach

Benoit & Associates
Joe Talamo, pictured with two-time Shoemaker Mile winner Obviously, leads the Santa Anita jockey standings with eight racing days remaining.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Joe Talamo has been in this situation before.

Last July, Talamo approached the final week of the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting with a four-win lead in the jockeys’ standings. He was winless in the final four days and was caught by Rafael Bejarano and Edwin Maldonado, who finished in a tie for first. Talamo was third, missing by one win.

There are two weeks left in the Santa Anita spring-summer meeting. Going into Thursday’s program, Talamo has 34 wins, good for a 10-win lead over Tyler Baze and a 12-win advantage over apprentice Drayden Van Dyke.

Tue, 06/17/2014 - 14:14

Lucrative Turf Sprint Day takes the stage at Evangeline

Tom Keyser
Lemon Drop Dream jumps footprints near the finish on his way to a second in the Maryland Sprint Handicap. He will start in Saturday's five-furlong Evangeline Turf Sprint.

Opelousas, La. – Entries were drawn Tuesday for Saturday’s Evangeline Turf Sprint Day, the most ambitious program ever in the 49-year history of Evangeline Downs. The $300,000 namesake headliner will be joined by the $100,000 Evangeline Mile for 3-year-olds and up; the $100,000 Opelousas for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf; the $70,000 Lafayette for Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds at seven furlongs; and the $70,000 Acadiana for Louisiana-bred 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.