Eclipse Award winner Big Brown, who stands at Robert N. Clay's Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky., will not be returning to Australia for the upcoming 2012 Southern Hemisphere breeding season after injuring a hind leg.
Eden's Moon scooted through between horses to take command of Sunday's Grade 2, $150,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/sanclemente12.pdf">San Clemente</a> at Del Mar and led all the way home in the one-mile grass affair to score by 1 1/4 lengths under jockey Rafael Bejarano. The Bob Baffert-trained daughter of Malibu Moon was sent off the 4-5 favorite and returned $3.80, $3.40 and $2.80 for stopping the clock on the firm turf in 1:34 1/5.
Trainer Bob Baffert wanted to experiment with the inconsistent filly Eden's Moon on turf and his hunch paid off when the odds-on choice led from the start to take the $150,000 San Clemente Handicap (gr. IIT) at Del Mar.
Dominion Bloodstock, HGHR Inc. and Linmac Farm's Riding the River bested five rivals to take the Grade 2, $318,140 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/nijinsky12.pdf">Nijinsky Stakes</a> by a neck at Woodbine on Sunday. Sent off as the 9-1 fourth choice, the David Cotey trainee completed about 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf in 1:48 with jockey Todd Kabel aboard.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin stood overlooking the training track at New York's Greentree Training Center on a picture-perfect Sunday morning, marveling at the emergence of Godolphin Racing Stable's Questing.
George and Lori Hall's Bern Identity passed what turned out to be a stern test for inexperienced juveniles in Sunday's Grade 2, $300,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/sanford12.pdf">Sanford Stakes</a> at Saratoga. A wicked speed duel cost the front runners, and ran most of the field off its feet, but the 9-5 favorite coped well. Showing the ability to draft just behind the pace war for Rosie Napravnik, the Kelly Breen pupil got himself into position, and had enough left to run down the tired Handsome Jack late.
Ramon Dominguez, the reigning two-time Eclipse Award winner, joined Hall of Famer John Velazquez July 22 as the only riders in the 144-year history of Saratoga Race Course to win six races on a single card.
Ramon Dominguez, the reigning two-time Eclipse Award winner as outstanding jockey, joined Hall of Famer John Velazquez on Sunday as the only riders in the 144-year history of Saratoga Race Course to win six races on a single card.
Grade 1 Wood Memorial winner Gemologist, unraced since a 16th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, breezed five furlongs in a bullet :58 2/5 on the fast main track at Saratoga Sunday.
A morning after Acclamation's dominating Eddie Read Stakes (gr. IT) victory July 21 at Del Mar, trainer Don Warren talked about his plans for the remainder of the champion's 2012 campaign.
Waterford Stable's Summer Front, who was rerouted to Sunday's $100,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/duluth12.pdf">Duluth Stakes</a> at Saratoga as a back-up plan, simply inhaled his opponents with an blistering turn of foot as the prohibitive 2-5 favorite. Trainer Christophe Clement originally intended to run in Saturday night's Grade 2, $600,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs, but a rainy forecast prompted him to keep the talented War Front colt at home, and he put on an exhibition on the firm inner turf.
The fashionable festivities at Saratoga were filled with excitement as the Spa capped off its first weekend of the 144th summer meet with the 21st annual Hat Contest on Sunday.
Favored Bern Identity stalked a hot pace before sweeping to victory over front-running Handsome Jack in the $200,000 Sanford Stakes (gr. II) for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course July 22.
Shut off while making a move for the lead in the stretch, Riding the River dipped to the inside for racing room and emerged with a 9-1 upset win in the $318,180 Nijinsky Stakes (Can-IIT) July 22 on the Woodbine turf course.
As expected, all was well Sunday at the stable of trainer Donald Warren on the morning after Acclamation's successful title defense in the Eddie Read Stakes, first Grade 1 event of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club summer meeting.
Preston Stables' Flat Out, winner of the 2011 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, continued preparations for the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap on August 4 at Saratoga, by breezing five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 over the fast Oklahoma training track on Sunday.
As a Martin Schwartz colorbearer, Group 1 Irish One Thousand Guineas heroine Samitar was bound to come to the United States sooner or later. That time has now arrived, for the classic-winning daughter of Rock of Gibraltar will make her first stateside start in Wednesday's Grade 2, $200,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/lakegeorge12.htm">Lake George Stakes</a> at Saratoga.
Trainer Chad Brown confirmed Martin Schwartz's Zagora for a title defense in the Grade 1 Diana, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares on July 28 at Saratoga, after the five-year-old daughter of Green Tune breezed four furlongs on the fast Oklahoma training track in :49 4/5 on Sunday with exercise rider Walter Malasquez in the irons.
Favored Stars to Shine, making her second start of the year, overcame some traffic issues to run down pacesetter Hooh Why in the stretch, winning the $151,072 Ontario Matron Stakes (Can-III) July 22 at Woodbine.
With jockey John Velazquez aboard, Ever So Lucky breezed five furlongs on Saratoga's fast main track Sunday morning in :59 1/5 in preparation for Friday's $100,000 Curlin, which will be his second start off a break following a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.
Trainer Chad Brown confirmed Martin Schwartz's Zagora for a title defense in the Diana Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race for fillies and mares July 28, after the mare breezed four furlongs on the Oklahoma training track.
Jockey John Velazquez, sidelined since fracturing his collarbone in a June 16 spill at Churchill Downs, will return to the races July 25 at Saratoga Race Course.
Derby and Preakness-winning jockey joins O'Neill and Reddam again for $1 million race July 29 at Monmouth Park.
The fortunes of jockey Constantino Roman shot up like a Roman candle Saturday when the 21-year-old native of Guerrero, Mexico, scored the first graded stakes victory of his career in the Grade 3 Arlington Oaks.
With each defeat that piled up for Awesome Belle, winner of last year's My Dear Girl division of the Florida Stallion Stakes, trainer Stanley Gold never lost sight of the eventual goal for the homebred daughter of Awesome of Course, which was a return to two-turn racing in Saturday's $75,000 Three Ring, a race Awesome Belle won to halt a nine-race losing streak that dated back to last November.
Great Heavens completed her rapid ascension to the top of the 3-year-old filly ranks with a dominating three-length victory in the Darley Irish Oaks (Ire-I) at the Curragh July 22.
Meandre continued his winning ways with a decisive 1 1/4-length victory in the Grosser Preis von Berlin (Ger-I) at Hoppegarten July 22.
The track was still silent, but once the horses arrived, Saratoga sprung to life.
Owner Martin S. Schwartz's eye for a good horse has led him to Samitar, who bears watching in the $200,000 Lake George Stakes (gr. IIT) at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-old fillies on turf at Saratoga July 25.
