'Florida Million' Launches Saturday

Edited release from Calder
Arthur Appleton's venerable turf star Forbidden Apple was accorded highweight of 120 pounds for the $150,000 Bonnie Heath Turf Cup, one of six stakes races to be run on Saturday's inaugural Florida Million program at Calder Racecourse.
Trainer Christophe Clement said Monday that the Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park will be Forbidden Apple's next start.

William Sorokolit, Sr.'s Union Place and Live Oak Plantation's Miesque's Approval, 3-year-olds who ran one-two in the $200,000 Calder Derby (gr. III), are next in the Bonnie Heath weights at 117 and 116 pounds, respectively.

Highweight honors for the other three Florida Million handicap races went to Calder-based division leaders, including Bea Oxenberg's 7-year-old Best of the Rest at 120 pounds for the $200,000 Carl G. Rose Classic at 1 1/8 miles. Next on the scale would be Sez Who Thoroughbreds' 3-year-old The Judge Sez Who at 116 as he faces older horses for the first time. Trained by Milt Wolfson, the homebred son of Judge T C has run in five straight derbys in five different states, including a victory in the Oklahoma version.

Herb and Ione Elkins' Castlebrook and Town and Country Stable's Coolbythepool are 5-year-old Calder-based mares that have dominated their division in main track middle distances races here over the last two years.

Catlebrook, a daughter of Montbrook trained by Bill Kaplan who won the last round by capturing the Shocker T. Handicap on Oct. 12, was assigned topweight of 121 pounds for the $200,000 Elmer Heubeck Distaff Handicap.

Coolbythepool, a daughter of Notebook trained by Marty Wolfson, was pegged at 120 pounds after finishing third in the Shocker T., a race she won last year.

Local runners are ranked the four highweights for the $150,000 Jack Dudley Sprint Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs with Double G Stable's 4-year-old Tour Of The Cat on top at 120 pounds, three more than Ron and Cindy Stengal's 3-year-old Royal Lad.