ALTOONA, Iowa - Mr Clearwater goes after his second stakes victory in less than a week when he starts as the likely favorite against five rivals in the $40,000 Iowa Stallion Stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Mr Clearwater led throughout to score a 4 3/4-length win in the Horsemen's Park Breeders Derby at a mile last Sunday during the Omaha, Neb., track's three-day meeting.
Dyna Penny should be closer to the pace in the $50,000 Chapel Belle Stakes at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., than she was in her last start, when she stumbled at the break in the $125,000 Walmac Lone Star Oaks. There's also a very good chance she will be closer at the finish.
Dyna Penny closed with a rush over yielding turf to finish second in the July 4 Oaks and was beaten three-quarters of a length by Southern California invader La Martina.
As Crypto's Twinjet has risen through the ranks of Ohio-bred 3-year-old fillies, she has met with difficulty on a few occasions.
Usually those tough times were directly the fault of Joanies Bella, who has dominated the class, or the occasional filly who has jumped up and run a big one, such as Crypto Cream did in the Annie Oakley at Thistledown last month.
Straw Flying Dash, coming off a 17.38-second trial win at 350 yards, meets Kindergarten winner Morning Snow in the Grade 1 $436,000 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity at Los Alamitos on Saturday night.
Straw Flying Dash, the first horse owned by Micah Leslie and Link Newcomb, is making his stakes debut after going 3 for 3 against lesser competition.
Trained by Dan Francisco, Straw Flying Dash showed he is ready for the class jump with his dominating trial win, the fastest 350-yard time for the meet.
But will Straw Flying Dash have something left for the finals?
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - You've got to give even the best horse a mulligan now and then. Strut the Stage got his earlier this month.
Saturday at Arlington, Strut the Stage should have every chance to rebound from a subpar sixth-place finish July 4 in the Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs. Facing slightly lesser competition this time, Strut the Stage should be favored in the $225,000 Arlington Handicap, a Grade 3 grass race at 1 1/4 miles.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Rita Schnitzler, who won last Saturday's Bold Venture Handicap with Sambuca on Ice, will try to win another Woodbine stakes this Saturday, when she saddles Boldest of All in the $129,125 Nandi, for Ontario-sired 2-year-old fillies.
Boldest of All was bought from a local 2-year-old sale for $60,000 by Stubbs Investment Inc. Like Sambuca on Ice, she's an offspring of popular speed sire Bold Executive.
EDMONTON, Alberta - Carrying topweight of 122 pounds, Sixthirtyjoe will concede two pounds to his arch rival Rancour at Northlands Park in Saturday's $40,000 Klondike Handicap.
A field of six will run in the 1 1/16-mile Klondike, the highlight of a card that closes out the Klondike Days portion of the racing season.
It now is anticipated that Sixthirtyjoe also will run in the $50,000 Northlands Sun Sprint Championship at 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 5 in a bid to dethrone Timely Ruckus from his four-year reign as Alberta sprint champion.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Like Kid Katabatic, J V Bennett is as good as ever at the advanced age of 9. He has won three of his five starts this year and will likely be a solid favorite over four others in the featured race at Hastings Park, a $25,000 sprint for older horses.
Three months ago, Your Out wasn't able to beat statebreds in Maryland. Last weekend, she came within 10 yards of defeating one of the top fillies in the country.
Your Out, a 4-year-old trained by Graham Motion, was overtaken just before the wire of the $600,000 Delaware Handicap by Summer Colony, finishing a neck behind the even-money favorite after 1 1/4 miles.