AUBURN, Wash. – E Z Kitty and Exclusive Diva, who stand head and shoulders above the rest of the filly and mare division at Emerald Downs, will renew their budding rivalry Sunday in the $50,000 Washington State Legislators Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs. Only four others were entered to face the likely favorites, with Castinette Dancer, down from Hastings in Vancouver, British Columbia, offering the best chance for an upset.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Marketing Mix, the winner of the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes on May 27, will remain in California for her next start, trainer Tom Proctor said.
Proctor is considering running her in the $150,000 Royal Heroine Stakes over a mile on turf for fillies and mares on July 6 or the $100,000 Sunset Handicap against males over 1 1/2 miles on turf on July 14, the closing day of the spring-summer meeting.
The long-term goal is the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 17.
“I don’t want to take her back there for six or seven weeks,” Proctor said.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Game On Dude, California’s top handicap horse, is back on course for the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park on July 6 after a brief illness scare last week.
Thursday at Santa Anita, Game On Dude worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, his first workout since May 27. On May 31, Baffert expressed concern about Game On Dude’s well-being after the 6-year-old gelding did not finish his feed and showed an elevated temperature. Baffert said that Game On Dude’s appetite returned last weekend and that the temperature subsided.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sahara Sky, the winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on May 27, is likely to make his next start in Southern California.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Friday that Sahara Sky will be considered for two Grade 1 sprint stakes – the $250,000 Triple Bend Handicap over seven furlongs here on June 29 or the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes over six furlongs at Del Mar on July 28.
Hollendorfer said a trip to Saratoga for the $500,000 Forego Stakes over seven furlongs on Aug. 31 remains a possibility.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Shug McGaughey has big plans for Boisterous this season and they start with the Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Stakes on Sunday.
The race is the local prep for Monmouth Park’s premier turf stakes, the Grade 1 United Nations on July 6.
The Monmouth Stakes at 1 1/8 miles drew a solid field that also includes Wrote, winner of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; the consistent Big Blue Kitten; and Tune Me In, a two-time graded stakes winner here last summer.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Hastings has scheduled four $50,000 stakes this Sunday – dubbed the Spring Showcase – and the stars all came out. Herbie D figures to be a handful in the 1 1/16-mile Sir Winston Churchill for 3-year-olds and up, and Evelyn’s Dancer is the obvious choice in the Vancouver Sun, which drew nine fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles.
The Emerald Downs for 3-year-old fillies goes as the second race, followed by the River Rock Casino for 3-year-olds. Both will be contested over 6 1/2 furlongs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Granted, it’s very early. Nonetheless, the fastest Beyer Speed Figure for a 2-year-old so far this year in North America was recorded Thursday at Churchill Downs by Bahnah, a filly making her first career start.
Trained by Bret Calhoun for Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch, Bahnah earned a 91 Beyer with a six-length triumph under Corey Lanerie in a 4 1/2-furlong race. She was the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight and finished in 51.17 seconds over a fast track.
“It’s great when they run the way they’re supposed to,” Calhoun said Friday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Malcolm Pierce will be a busy man here Sunday, with six entrants on the 10-race program. The majority of Pierce’s participants will not be of the garden variety, as he will send out both Smartyfly and Dance Again in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, His Race to Win in the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes, and Overheard in the $125,000 Alywow Stakes.
“I hope I’ll be getting my picture taken lots of times,” said Pierce, who runs a 40-horse stable here with his wife and assistant, Sally.
It will take more than five hours to run the 14 time trials for the Ed Burke Million Futurity at Los Alamitos on Sunday evening.
Five Bar Cartel starts in the first race for trainer Danny Montes, and he is one of two runners on the evening for the 33-year-old trainer. The colt won his career debut in a 300-yard maiden race in a quick 15.39 seconds at Los Alamitos on May 19, giving Montes confidence for Sunday’s race.
The hard part will be waiting through the evening for the other results.
“It will be a long day,” Montes said.
The Golden Gate Fields stewards suspended trainer Billy Morey for 30 days and fined him $3,000 for an overage of the bronchodilator albuterol in the horse Picture Perfect, who tested positive after winning the first race at Golden Gate Fields on Jan. 1.
Fifteen days of the suspension, which begins on June 10, were stayed as part of a stipulated agreement. Morey will be placed on probation through June 5, 2014.
The 39-year-old Morey was fourth in the trainer standings entering Friday’s racing at the Golden Gate Fields meeting with 39 winners from 139 starters.
