Wed, 09/23/2020 - 11:50

Romans will try to sweep Breeders' Cup 2-year-old races

Debra A. Roma
Iroquois winner Sittin On Go is likely to breeze Saturday as Dale Romans prepares him for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans can well remember when Pat Byrne swept the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies in 1997 at Hollywood Park with Favorite Trick and Countess Diana.

“I’d love to do that at Keeneland this fall,” said Romans.

Toward that end, Romans will have Sittin On Go and Girl Daddy making their respective next starts in the Nov. 6 BC Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland. Both are slated for their first breezes Saturday at Churchill since accounting for their own sweep of the Iroquois and Pocahontas during Kentucky Derby week.

Wed, 09/23/2020 - 11:46

Mr. Money may rebound in Ack Ack Stakes

Coady Photography
Mr. Money comes into the Ack Ack off a troubled trip in the Charles Town Classic.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mr. Money is in agreement with anybody who says 2020 has been a lousy year.

As opposed to 2019, when the colt won four Grade 3 stakes in a row and earned $1,136,820, this has been a difficult year for Mr. Money. In four starts, he has finished no better than fourth, with his 2020 earnings a mere $15,550.

“Maybe he doesn’t like dealing with this COVID stuff, either,” joked trainer Bret Calhoun.

Wed, 09/23/2020 - 11:16

Several Champion of Champions contenders will skip a prep race

Jake Rogers/Ruidoso Downs
Trainer Monty Arrossa could have as many as three starters in the Champion of Champions, including All American Derby winner Gold Heart Eagle V.

Several contenders for the $600,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12 will run in the prestigious race without the benefit of a recent start. For the trainers behind those runners, that is an ideal approach toward the richest race for older Quarter Horses.

Wed, 09/23/2020 - 10:00

Preakness: McPeek still on the fence with Swiss Skydiver

Coady Photography
Swiss Skydiver works what trainer Ken McPeek called a "happy half-mile" at Churchill Downs Saturday under Brian Hernandez Jr.

Even with official word having come down Tuesday that Tiz the Law will not run in the Oct. 3 Preakness, trainer Ken McPeek said the following morning that “we’re not in any hurry” in deciding whether Swiss Skydiver will contest the final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown.

“I’m still probably going to wait until Monday morning to decide,” McPeek said.

Tue, 09/22/2020 - 14:01

Tiz a Slam retired from racing

Michael Burns
Tiz a Slam went out to an early lead and won Sunday's Nijinsky Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths..

Tiz a Slam was retired by Chiefswood Stables after trainer Roger Attfield sent him out to finish seventh in Saturday’s Grade 3 Singspiel.

Tiz a Slam captured the Grade 3 Ontario Derby after ending up second in the 2017 Queen’s Plate. He evolved into a turf expect and put together a three-race win steak in graded stakes last year that included his second straight triumph in the Grade 2 Nijinsky. He won 9 of 31 starts and $1.26 million.

Chiefswood general manager Robert Landry said stallion plans are pending for the 6-year-old homebred by Tiznow.

Tue, 09/22/2020 - 11:46

Starship Jubilee headed to Breeders' Cup after Woodbine Mile win

Michael Burns
Starship Jubilee wins the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, earning a fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Starship Jubilee earned a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup in her emphatic victory in Saturday’s $1 million Woodbine Mile, and the venerable 7-year-old is probably headed for a Breeders’ Cup race at Keeneland.

A $16,000 claim by trainer Kevin Attard at Gulfstream in 2017, Starship Jubilee won the Grade 2 Canadian in each of the past two years, but Attard decided to bypass that nine-furlong stakes on Sept. 12 in favor of the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile after she had run twice at Saratoga.

Mon, 09/21/2020 - 14:26

Apprentice Charlie Marquez comes to Belmont Park, with Cordero as agent

Barbara D. Livingston
Charlie Marquez finished third in the standings at Laurel’s winter/spring meet and again at the summer meet.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Apprentice jockey Charlie Marquez, 17, will begin riding at Belmont Park on Friday, having moved his tack from Laurel. He will be represented by Angel Cordero Jr., the Hall of Fame rider who also is the agent for Manny Franco.

Marquez is the son of jockey Carlos Marquez Jr. and the grandson of Carlos Marquez Sr., whom Cordero said he rode with in the 1970s. Carlos Marquez Sr. also was a teacher at Puerto Rico’s Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school.

Mon, 09/21/2020 - 14:26

Few willing to face Volatile in Vosburgh

Debra A. Roma
Alfred G. Vanderbilt winner Volatilewill probably start next in the Forego at Saratoga or the Vosburgh at Belmont.

ELMONT. N.Y. – Volatile, winner of the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in July at Saratoga, may have only three challengers in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont Park.

As of Sunday, the racing office listed Firenze Fire, T Loves a Fight, and Share the Ride as others expected to run in the Vosburgh, which offers a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

Mon, 09/21/2020 - 14:16

Castellano gets familiar with Code of Honor in advance of Kelso Handicap

Joe Labozzetta/NYRA
Code of Honor, shown winning the Westchester in his 4-year-old debut, has room for improvement coming into the Met Mile.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Code of Honor worked five furlongs in 1:03.06 on Monday morning over Belmont Park’s main track in preparation for a start in the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso Handicap here Oct. 3.

Javier Castellano was aboard Code of Honor on Monday morning and will ride him in the Kelso. John Velazquez, Code of Honor’s regular rider, is scheduled to ride Authentic that same day in the Preakness at Pimlico.

Mon, 09/21/2020 - 14:16

Baffert's older stars set to clash in Awesome Again and beyond

Debra A. Roma
Improbable earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for his Whitney triumph.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Maximum Security and Improbable will see a lot of each other this fall, but trainer Bob Baffert kept them apart for key workouts Monday morning at Santa Anita as they prepare for their first of two autumn showdowns.

Although the country’s top older males worked five furlongs an hour apart on Monday, their autumn race schedule is the same. Maximum Security and Improbable both run Saturday in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita, followed by the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.