A trio of graded stakes winners highlight the 10-horse field for Friday's $150,000 Pimlico Breeders' Cup Distaff Handicap (gr. III), going 1 1/16 miles at Pimlico Race Course. The field is highlighted by grade I winner Nonsuch Bay and grade II winners Roar Emotion and Smok'n Frolic.
John D. Gunther's Bending Strings relished a cutback to the seven-furlong distance of the $195,000 Nassau County Breeders' Cup (gr. II) for 3-year-old fillies, drawing away for her first graded stakes victory by 4 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park Saturday.
Wednesday's $100,000-added Bewitch (gr. III) features an overflow field of well-matched fillies and mares set to compete over 1 1/2 miles on Keeneland's turf course.
West Point Thorougbreds' Seattle Fitz, runner-up to Medaglia d'Oro in the Feb. 7 Donn Handicap (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park, worked four furlongs in :47 1/5 at Palm Meadows Training Center March 29 in preparation for the April 3 Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II).
Joseph Allen's Randaroo had everything going her way in Saturday $147,900 Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) at seven furlongs at Aqueduct. With Richard Migliore aboard, she got an early lead and left Storm Flag Flying in her wake.
Lunar Sovereign, winner of the Man o' War Stakes (gr. IT) for Kiaran McLaughlin last year, makes his return to the UAE at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday night when he contests the Burjaman Dubai City of Gold Stakes (UAE-III).
Five-year-old Gerrman-bred mare Binya won her second straight in the United States Saturday at Gulfstream Park, recording a sharp 2 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 The Very One Handicap (gr. IIIT) at 1 3/8 miles on the turf.
Joseph Allen's Roar Emotion pulled clear of Ivanavinalot at the top of the stretch and buried her rivals under strong urging from John Velazquez, posting a 5 1/2-length triumph in the $100,000 Sabin Handicap (gr. III) at Gulstream Park Sunday.
Joseph Allen's Randaroo got the jump on the better-fancied Harmony Lodge and the speedy filly turned what was supposed to be a match race between the two into a 7 1/4-length romp in the $100,000 Shirley Jones Handicap (gr. III) Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
Weather could be a key factor in the outcome of Saturday's two graded turf stakes at Gulfstream Park. The $100,000 Canadian Turf Handicap (gr. IIIT) drew a field of nine – including three entered for the main-track-only – while the $100,000 Suwannee River Handicap (gr. IIIT) attracted 12 fillies and mares.
Seattle Fitz held off even-money favorite Evening Attire for a nose victory in the $110,000 Aqueduct Handicap (gr. III) Saturday at Aqueduct.
Darley Stud Management's Millennium Dragon registered his first United States stakes triumph in Sunday's $150,000 Appleton Handicap (gr. III), turning back a relentless challenge from Political Attack for a 1 1/4-length victory at Gulfstream Park.
Irish-bred Volga, racing in the finest form of her career, registered a convincing 2 3/4-length win Saturday in the $200,000 La Prevoyante Handicap (gr. IIT) over 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Calder Race Course.
Joseph Allen's overlooked Randaroo won her third straight graded stakes race since Kiaran McLaughlin assumed conditioning duties, taking the $150,000 Top Flight Handicap (gr. II) for fillies and mares at Aqueduct Friday.
Randaroo, leading from the outset, held off the late charge of Shine Again to win the $150,000 First Flight Handicap (gr. II) on Breeders' Cup Saturday at Belmont Park.
Volga, a mare with a history in the E.P. Taylor Stakes (Can-I), got the job done on her third try Sunday, winning the $750,000 turf test at Woodbine in a three-horse photo.
Joseph Allen's Randaroo raced close to the lead and then wrested command past the 1/16th marker and drove to victory in the $150,000 Safely Kept Stakes (gr. III) for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Pimlico.
Darley Stable's Millennium Dragon, a two-time winner on the Belmont Park Widener Turf course, has an edge in Saturday's $350,000 Kelso Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIT) at a mile.
Randaroo is the lukewarm favorite at 9-2 among 14 sophomore fillies entered in Saturday's $150,000 Martha Washington Breeders' Cup Stakes at Pimlico.
Darley Stable's Lunar Sovereign, guided by Richard Migliore, unleashed an explosive move while wide on the final turn and rolled on to a 2 3/4-length win in the $500,000 Man o'War (gr. IT) at Belmont Park Saturday.
Canadian trainer Mark Frostad makes a rare trip to upstate New York to saddle Shoal Water for Saratoga's closing-day $100,000-added Saranac Handicap (gr. IIIT) for 3-year-olds on the turf Monday.
Catherine Wills & Peter Karches' Dynever drew post position seven in a field of ten and was installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite for Monday's running of the $750,000 Pennsylvania Derby (gr. III) at Philadelphia Park.
Favored Trademark captured his second graded stakes race in the United States this year as jockey Richard Migliore guided the South African runner through a seam between horses in the stretch en route to an easy win in Saturday's $200,000 Fourstardave Handicap (gr. IIT) at Saratoga.
Pont Street Stable's Tap The Admiral, winner of Churchill Downs' Firecracker Breeders' Cup (gr. II) in July, was one of 12 horses entered in the $200,000 Fourstardave Handicap (gr. IIT) at 1 1/16 mile on the turf.
Sam-Son Farm's Soaring Free puts his unbeaten four-race seasonal win streak on the line Saturday at Woodbine in the featured $165,000 Play The King Stakes (Can-III).
Shake You Down will spot six foes from five to 11 pounds when he attempts to capture the $200,000 A.G. Vanderbilt Handicap (gr. II) at Saratoga Sunday.
Trainer Bobby Frankel continues his seemingly insatiable quest for graded stakes wins Monday when he sends John Amerman's Urban King in the $150,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Handicap (gr. IIT) for 3-year-olds running a mile and an eighth on the turf.
Jockey Richard Migliore implored Sharp Impact for everything he had to hold off second-place Hidden Truth and win the $150,000 Lexington (gr. III) at Belmont on Sunday.
Trainer Neil Howard looks forward to Saratoga later this month, but he still has business at Belmont Park with his up-and-coming 3-year-old turf standout Hidden Truth in Sunday's Lexington Stakes (gr. IIIT).
Aldebaran, who finished third in the June 14 Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill Downs, will shorten up from that race's nine-furlong distance when he competes in Friday's seven-furlong Tom Fool Handicap at Belmont.
Harlan's Holiday and Nayef, two of the leading contenders for Saturday's $6 million Dubai World Cup, had important works at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday and Sunday.
A forecast for wet weather over the weekend has horsemen keeping their fingers crossed in hopes the rain will hold off until after Saturday's $150,000 Long Island Handicap (gr. IIT) for fillies and mares scheduled at a 1 1/2 mile on turf.
Among the horses preparing for the Nov. 23 and 24 grade I races in Japan are Abreeze, Indigenous, Red Sun, and Storming Home, who are already in Japan.
Juddmonte Farms' Chiselling, the lone Grade I winner among the $200,000 Jamaica Handicap's (gr. IIT) cast of nine, will tote 121 pounds as the high weight for Sunday's 1 1/8-mile feature for 3-year-olds on the Belmont Park inner turf course.
Dollar Bill breezed Sept. 8, and Abreeze is scheduled to work Sept.10, in preparation for the Sept. 14 Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) at Turfway Park.
Ibn Al Haitham, eight times a loser as a maiden on dirt, won his second straight race on the Saratoga turf, taking the $100,000 Saranac Handicap (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at 1 3/16 miles on closing day Monday.
Favorites, led by Truly a Judge in the $150,000 Jewel Final, claimed four of the six division comprising the fourth Claiming Crown Championships Saturday at Philadelphia Park.
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will be hosting the 2nd seminar of its "Guests in the Gallery" program on Wednesday August 14th at 11:00 a.m.
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will be hosting
the second seminar of its "Guests in the Gallery" program on
Aug. 14th at 11 am. Participants scheduled to attend the panel
discussion are trainers H. James Bond, Leah Gyarmati, Kiaran McLaughlin, Ken McPeek, and Tom Voss.
Istintaj, the 4-5 favorite in Sunday's Deputy Minister Handicap (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park, took a slim lead just inside the eighth pole to win the 6 1/2-furlong bout by a half-length. Among his rivals were 3-1 second choice Fappie's Notebook, who finished second, and 21-1 longshot Fantastic Finish, who led for most of the race before giving way in the last yards to finish third. The winner paid $3.80, the exacta returned $15.20, and the trifecta was worth $692.00.
