Wed, 10/16/2013 - 15:45

Keeneland notes: Ciao Bella Luna seeks rare double in Raven Run

Coady Photography
Ciao Bella Luna, ridden to victory in the Beaumont by Joel Rosario, would have to be supplemented at a cost of $30,000 to run in the Kentucky Oaks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ciao Bella Luna will attempt to duplicate what Gypsy Robin did last year, sweeping the Beaumont and Raven Run stakes, when she runs back Saturday at Keeneland for the first time since winning the Beaumont Stakes here in April.

Ciao Bella Luna is part of an oversubscribed field of 3-year-old fillies in the Grade  2, $250,000 Raven Run Stakes, the richest race remaining on Keeneland’s fall-meet stakes schedule. Only one other filly has won both the Beaumont and the Raven Run, and that was Gypsy Robin.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 15:12

Los Alamitos: Ochoa is the best longtime trainer Gilbreath has seen

Ruidoso Downs
Ochoa has earned a berth in the Champion of Champions Dec. 14 at Los Alamitos.

In his historic career, Ochoa has won such races as the $2.4  million All American Futurity in 2011, and the $903,774 Rainbow Derby and $2.2 million All American Derby in 2012, all at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico.

But it was Ochoa’s performance in his California debut in Sunday’s $150,000 Los Alamitos Championship that left veteran trainer Sleepy Gilbreath and jockey Roy Baldillez amazed.

“That was one of his best races,” Baldillez said of the 4-year-old gelding. “He left there running. He ran a full race and the time was pretty fast.”

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 15:05

Belmont: Mission Approved faces tough assignment in Mohawk

Barbara D. Livingston
Mission Approved will be making his first start in nearly two years and appears unlikely to get an uncontested early lead in the Mohawk.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In the spring of 2011, Mission Approved – who had been claimed in the spring of 2010 for $35,000 – returned from an 11-month layoff to upset defending turf champion Gio Ponti in the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 15:01

Tampa Bay Downs to offer million-dollar Kentucky Derby bonus

A horse that wins the 2014 Kentucky Derby following victories in the Tampa Bay Derby and Sam F. Davis Stakes will be awarded a bonus of $1 million by Tampa Bay Downs, the track announced on Wednesday.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 14:54

Woodbine: Pierce looking for big day in Saturday stakes

Michael Burns
Hotep makes his second start off a layoff in the With Approval at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Malcolm Pierce continued his banner season here last Saturday, sending out Dance Again and Smartyfly to finish first and second in the $150,000 Carotene Stakes. Dance Again, a homebred for Sam-Son Farm, became a stakes winner in the Carotene, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies, and gave Pierce his sixth stakes win of the meeting.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 14:47

Santa Anita: Bajan likely to bypass Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies for Moccasin

Benoit & Associates
Bajan's trainer, Simon Callaghan, prefers the seven furlongs of the Moccasin to the 1 1/16 miles of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies..

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bajan, winner of last Sunday’s Anoakia Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, is likely to miss the Breeders’ Cup, trainer Simon Callaghan said Wednesday.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Ronald and Jerry Frankel, Bajan was considered for the $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, but instead will start a week later in the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes over seven furlongs at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Wed, 10/16/2013 - 14:36

Florida notes: Ribo Bobo targets Maryland Million, Claiming Crown

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Ribo Bobo, a former claimer, won the Icecapade at Monmouth over the summer and will go after the Maryland Million Sprint and Claiming Crown Express this fall.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jason Servis could roll the dice and take his amazing former claimer Ribo Bobo to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. After all, the gelded son of Louis Quatorze has won all eight of his starts this season, at distances ranging from 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 furlongs, including Monmouth Park’s Icecapade Stakes late this summer.

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 15:11

Santa Anita: Secret Circle eyes Breeders' Cup Sprint after comeback win

Shigeki Kikkawa
Secret Circle could make his next start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Secret Circle may have earned a start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 with an emphatic comeback win in an optional claimer Monday.

Unraced since finishing second to Bodemeister in the Arkansas Derby in April 2012, Secret Circle won the six-furlong race by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:07.98.

“When they’re off that long, sometimes you forget how good they are,” trainer Bob Baffert said in the winner’s circle.

Tue, 10/15/2013 - 15:05

Breeders' Cup Classic: Game On Dude gears up with six-furlong drill

Shigeki Kikkawa
Game On Dude, with Martin Garcia up, works six furlongs in 1:12.20 on Tuesday at Santa Anita.

Game On Dude on Tuesday turned up the intensity of his preparation for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov.  2 when working a sharp six furlongs in company at Santa Anita.

Game On Dude was given an official time of 1:12.20 for six furlongs, and his trainer, Bob Baffert, had him going out seven furlongs in “1:25 and change.” He will have two more works prior to the Classic, in which he is expected to be favored.

“Everything went great,” Baffert said. “He was sharp. He’s on schedule.”