NEW ORLEANS - The three leading local contenders for the Louisiana Derby took the track here Tuesday morning for their final workout before the race. Two of them, Gradepoint and Breakaway, worked as a team, getting their breeze started just as the third horse, Fire Slam, finished his.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - One of the best 3-year-olds at Oaklawn has decided to bypass the $200,000 Rebel. Wildcat Shoes, who earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure in December when he won the $60,000 Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds, will go back to sprinting after finishing seventh in his two-turn debut last Saturday in the $100,000 Southwest Stakes.
"We're going to save him for sprints," said Jinks Fires, who trains Wildcat Shoes for Patricia Blass.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - How will Hungarian form transfer?
Horseplayers will have to address this unusual issue Thursday at Oaklawn Park when the consistent Yellowstone makes his North American debut in the featured eighth race.
Triton Missile and Unbridled America are the top contenders in the six-furlong money allowance that drew nine. But one has to consider Yellowstone for at least the exotics based on his consistency and a series of strong workouts at Oaklawn.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A pick six carryover of $1,413,136 awaits bettors Wednesday at Santa Anita, where the gross pool figures to soar past $5 million. The three-day carryover is among the highest in track history, and estimates say at least $3.5 million will be wagered Wednesday.
Those may be a conservative estimates. Last April 5, bettors wagered $2.2 million chasing a two-day carryover half the size of Wednesday's jackpot. With two dark days to replenish bankrolls and plot strategy for Wednesday, bettors will be on the attack.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Cripple Creek deserved a better fate than having to settle for second behind Skier's Gift in his local debut earlier in the Gulfstream Park meet. A repeat of that effort should reward Cripple Creek with a well-deserved trip to the winner's circle when he returns under similar entry-level allowance conditions in Wednesday's $34,000 feature race.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Wednesday's second race will define the spring campaign of Rock Hard Ten, an impressive maiden winner in his debut last month.
Trained by Jason Orman for Madeleine Paulson and Ernie Moody's Mercedes Stable, will start as the favorite in a $52,000 optional claimer over a mile. The race is run as the second on an eight-race program, which features a pick six carryover of $1.4 million. The pick six covers the third through eighth races.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Spirit o' War, who has won both of his races since returning from an 11-month layoff in January, makes his first start outside Southern California on Wednesday in the featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park.
An entry-level allowance, the 1 1/16-mile race drew a field of 10.
Spirit o' War, who is 5, figures to go favored for his sharp form. He won his maiden by seven lengths at Santa Anita on Jan. 9, then came back to beat winners in a starter allowance at the track Feb. 13.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - The calendar has turned to March and preparations for the 129th Kentucky Derby on May 1 are beginning to intensify. On March 13, Gulfstream Park will host south Florida's premier 3-year-old race, the $1 million Florida Derby, and many of the race's participants have put their training in high gear.
As of Monday, the Florida Derby field stood at six, with Frisky Spider and Tapit also under consideration. The six confirmed runners include Read the Footnotes, Master David, Value Plus, The Cliff's Edge, Sir Oscar, and Friends Lake.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Lucky Pulpit shook off the reputation as being a "turf-only" 3-year-old with a runner-up finish to St Averil in the Grade 2 Santa Catalina Stakes on Jan. 17.
When Lucky Pulpit returns in Saturday's $200,000 San Rafael Stakes, trainer Clifford Sise and owner Larry Williams are looking for evidence that the colt belongs in further Kentucky Derby preps.
Lucky Pulpit was best on turf last fall, winning the minor Pinjara Stakes and finishing third in the Grade 3 Generous Stakes. He was entered in the Santa Catalina at Williams's insistence, Sise said.
