Sun, 04/13/2014 - 19:02

Kentucky Derby decision pending for Dance With Fate

Shigeki Kikkawa
Dance With Fate will race on turf for the first time in a first-level optional $80,000 claimer Friday at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Dance With Fate, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland, will return to California on Monday, and a decision as to whether he runs in the Kentucky Derby will be made by his owners, trainer Peter Eurton said Sunday at Santa Anita.

Eurton, as he did immediately following the race Saturday, said he would prefer not to run on dirt in the Derby on May 3, believing Dance With Fate is better on synthetic or grass. He also thinks coming back in three weeks would not be ideal for a horse who prefers time between races.

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 18:45

Breeders' Cup Sprint the target for Big Macher

Benoit & Associates
Big Macher and jockey Tyler Baze (inside) hold off 7-5 favorite Wild Dude and Rafael Bejarano in the Potrero Grande.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Getting Big Macher to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in November as inexpensively as possible has become a goal for owners Brendan Bakir and Tom Mansor and trainer Richard Baltas after the gelding’s win in Saturday’s $200,750 Potrero Grande Stakes.

Baltas said on Sunday that a Win and You’re In race will be a goal this summer for Big Macher. If a horse wins a Win and You’re In race, the Breeders’ Cup waives entry and starting fees.

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 17:08

Game On Dude flies in work

Coady Photography
Game On Dude, outside, won the 2013 Charles Town Classic and will return on April 19 to defend that win.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Game On Dude worked six furlongs in 1:11 at Santa Anita on Sunday, his final major exercise before the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on Saturday.

Jockey Martin Garcia worked Game On Dude for trainer Bob Baffert on Sunday, but Mike Smith will have the mount on the popular 7-year-old in the 1 1/8-mile Charles Town Classic.

Baffert said that Game On Dude galloped out seven furlongs in 1:25. “He looked awesome,” Baffert said.

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 16:02

Beholder entered for Santa Lucia

ARCADIA, Calif. - The two-time champion Beholder will make her 2014 debut in the $75,000 Santa Lucia Stakes at Santa Anita next Sunday.

Beholder was the champion 2-year-old filly of 2012 and the champion 3-year-old filly of 2013. She has not raced since winning the Breeders’ Cup Distaff here last November.

Trainer Richard Mandella had been seeking a race for Beholder’s comeback, and chose the Santa Lucia, run over the track on which she trains daily. Beholder was supplemented to the stakes for $1,500.

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 15:41

California Chrome given private training window at Los Alamitos

Shigeki Kikkawa
California Chrome, who does all his training at Los Alamitos, earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the Santa Anita Derby.

Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome will have his own training time at Los Alamitos for the next few weeks in the buildup to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Track officials have dedicated 7:10 to 7:30 a.m. for California Chrome’s daily exercise. The decision was reached after a loose horse was on the track at the same time as California Chrome on Saturday morning, causing anxious moments.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 15:05

Baffert works Chitu, Midnight Hawk

Coady Photography
Chitu won the Sunland Derby on Sunday and is a strong contender for this year's Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert currently has three horses with sufficient points to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 3, and all soon will be traveling from California to Kentucky, where they will join Bayern, who was sent to Churchill Downs on Sunday following his third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday.

Sun, 04/13/2014 - 14:49

It's on to Kentucky for Danza after Arkansas Derby upset

Barbara D. Livingston
Danza, ridden by Joe Bravo, scores a 41-1 upset in the $1 million Arkansas Derby.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Danza was en route to Churchill Downs on Sunday morning after earning a trip to the Kentucky Derby with his victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday. He was assigned a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for his 4 3/4-length win in the Arkansas Derby.

Danza also earned 100 points towards Kentucky Derby eligibility, and becomes the fourth horse his trainer, Todd Pletcher, has on the road to the big dance alongside Constitution, Intense Holiday, and We Miss Artie.

“We’re very fortunate,” Pletcher said Sunday.

Sat, 04/12/2014 - 15:45

Belmont's Ogden Phipps next target for Close Hatches

Tom Keyser
Close Hatches (right), with Joel Rosario aboard, will be pointed to the $1 million Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park on June 7.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Close Hatches spent a quiet morning at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, taking advantage of some well-earned grazing time following her powerful, front-running win in the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap on Friday. It was her second graded stakes score in two starts this year, the other being the Grade 2, $200,000 Azeri in her 4-year-old debut March 15. Close Hatches is now targeting the Grade 1, $1 million Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park on June 7.

Sat, 04/12/2014 - 14:42

Lemon Drop Dream going to Churchill

Tom Keyser
Lemon Drop Dream (No. 5) and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. win the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap by a neck over Alsvid on Thursday.

Lemon Drop Dream, who won the Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on Thursday at Oaklawn, will now head to Churchill Downs with his next race to be determined, Asmussen said Saturday. Lemon Drop Dream caught Alsvid on the wire for a neck win in the Count Fleet, covering six furlongs in 1:09.15 and earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 99.

Sat, 04/12/2014 - 14:32

Humana Distaff might be next for Speedinthruthecity

Coady Photography
Speedinthruthecity, under Luis Quinonez, enables trainer Steve Asmussen to win the Carousel Stakes for the sixth time.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Speedinthruthecity could get a shot at Grade 1 rivals next month following her powerful win in the $100,000 Carousel at Oaklawn Park. She is being considered for the Grade 1, $300,000 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs, trainer Steve Asmussen said on Saturday. The seven-furlong race for fillies and mares is May 3.

The Carousel was one of the nine stakes that made up this year’s Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn, with the $3.3 million series to close Saturday with the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby.