An eclectic group of 3-year-olds will contest Friday’s $100,000 Gone Fishin overnight stakes, a six-furlong dash scheduled for the inner turf.
With 10 grass races under his belt already, Bernie the Jet has more turf-racing experience than Dark Roast, Skylander, Spiral Stair, Officer Alex, and Weekend Hideaway combined.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Jockey Garrett Gomez will not ride in the two Grade 1 stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday while continuing to deal with personal issues, his agent, Tony Matos, said on Wednesday.
Gomez’s absence could extend into July. Wednesday, trainer Craig Lewis said that he has arranged for jockey Joe Talamo to replace Gomez on Clubhouse Ride in the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on July 6, if Gomez has not returned.
Gomez took off his mounts on June 13, citing personal issues. On June 19, on his Twitter feed, Gomez said he was “working on his marriage.”
ALTOONA, Iowa – The Iowa Festival of Racing concludes Saturday night with Prairie Meadows’ most prestigious races: the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker Handicap, the Grade 3, $250,000 Iowa Derby, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Iowa Oaks.
The Iowa Oaks, at 1 1/16 miles, has come up very strong this year with a field of 10 headed by graded stakes winners Fiftyshadesofhay, So Many Ways, and Seaneen Girl.
ALTOONA, Iowa – Friday’s first card of the Iowa Festival of Racing at Prairie Meadows is topped by the $125,000 Iowa Sprint but also includes a pair of $100,000 stakes for fillies and mares, the six-furlong Saylorville and the 1 1/16-mile Iowa Distaff.
ALTOONA, Iowa – The Iowa Festival of Racing, six stakes contested on back-to-back evenings with a combined value of more than $1 million, commences on Friday at Prairie Meadows.
Delaunay, the top-ranked sprinter in North America by Daily Racing Form ’s national handicapper Mike Watchmaker, will take on four rivals Friday in the featured $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap at six furlongs. The other Friday stakes are the $100,000 Iowa Distaff and the $100,0000 Saylorville. First post is 6:30 p.m. Central.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Hobbs, a highly successful claim by trainer Kathy Mongeon, gets substantial class relief on Friday in the $46,000 third-level feature on the turf at Monmouth Park.
The 1 1/16-mile race drew a field of eight with only two entered for the optional $50,000 claiming tag: Glass Art and main-track-only runner Wild Louis.
Mongeon has been on a roll lately, turning claimers into stakes winners.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Due to a shortage of horses entered, Hastings canceled Saturday’s card and its card for Friday, July 5.
In agreement with representatives of the Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, management made the decision to scrap Saturday in order to have strong cards on Sunday and Monday. Monday is the Canadian holiday of Canada Day.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Ralph Biamonte won last year’s six-furlong Achievement Stakes with Jenna’s Wabbit, a homebred gelding who went on to push his bankroll to $278,750 in a five-start campaign.
On Saturday at Woodbine, Biamonte will be looking to knock out another Achievement with Click, another homebred gelding who will be facing five rivals in the $150,000 sprint stakes for Ontario-foaled 3-year-olds.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – With the promising Skyrish stuck on the also-eligible list, Friday’s Woodbine feature seems wide open, and Ruvee should be prominent in the Ontario-sired allowance race scheduled for six furlongs on grass.
Ruvee, 4, came into his own in the fall, when he ran second in a six-furlong allowance race after a gate-to-wire triumph in an open maiden special weight race.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Five Bar Cartel’s hard-fought win in the $1,071,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity at Los Alamitos last Sunday will lead to a lengthy rest for the undefeated 2-year-old Quarter Horse.
There is too much money at stake in the fall.
