Monday, August 04 2008

SARATOGA RACE COURSE NOTES, Sunday, August 3, 2008

Trainer Bob Baffert was pleased with how Indian Blessing, juvenile filly champion of 2007, came out of her impressive seven-length win in the Grade 1, seven-furlong Test on Saturday.

“She looks great,” said Baffert. “She’s a little tired today. She ran great – her race before [Belmont Park’s Grade 1 Prioress on July 5] was pretty impressive and this race was extremely impressive. Plus, you know, the Test is a very important race so she stamped herself yesterday.”

RED GIANT RALLIES TO TAKE FOURSTARDAVE

There may have been a softer spot for Red Giant to make his first start in 10 months than Sunday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga Race Course, but the 4-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway made it look easy.

Under jockey John Velazquez, the chestnut colt was content to save ground behind pacesetter Inca King through the early going, and after moving into contention on the inside on the turn, finally found running room at the top of the stretch and wore down Stalingrad in the final yards for the neck victory, his first since setting a course record in last year’s Grade 2 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs at 37-1.

BIG BROWN, 1-5 FAVORITE, WINS HASKELL INVITATIONAL

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Dual classic winner Big Brown displayed championship form at Monmouth Park on Sunday as he dug down deep to catch a stubborn Coal Play in the final furlong to win the $1 million Haskell Invitational Presented by Vonage (G1) by nearly two lengths.

The 45,132 fans on hand on a perfect summer afternoon were treated to a tremendous horserace as the 1-5 Big Brown was forced to call on all his reserves to gain his fourth Grade 1 victory of the year as jockey Kent Desormeaux kept him in a drive from the quarter-pole to the wire.

BLACK MAMBA WINS JOHN C. MABEE HANDICAP

Trapped along the rail until deep stretch, odds-on favored Black Mamba, under a cool ride by jockey Garrett Gomez, finally found running room nearing the wire to get up and win the featured Grade I $400,000 John C. Mabee Handicap Sunday at Del Mar.

The New Zealand-bred mare, returning to the scene of her first American triumph a year ago, needed a brilliant turn of speed to win by a half-length over a fast-closing longshot, the 24-1 I Can See, with pacemaker Passified hanging on for third, another three-quarters of a length back. Foxysox was fourth in the field of eight older fillies and mares.

Del Mar Stable Notes 8/3/8

TRIPLE CROWN TRAIL GONE, YANKEE BRAVO MAY TACKLE LA JOLLA

Yankee Bravo, third in the Louisiana Derby and fourth in the Santa Anita Derby before finishing 10th in the Preakness Stakes, is on the comeback trail with a start in Saturday's Grade II, $150,000 La Jolla Handicap on trainer Patrick Gallagher's agenda.

"We're looking at the La Jolla," Gallagher said this morning.

Arlington Park International Festival of Racing Barn Notes: Sun. Aug. 3

ARLINGTON MILLION’S ARCHIPENKO ON TRAINING TRACK SUNDAY

World traveler Archipenko, one of three European invaders serving as star attractions for Saturday’s Grade I Arlington Million, arrived at Arlington late Friday night and cleared quarantine in time to stretch his legs over Arlington’s training track mid-morning Sunday.

South African trainer Mike de Kock’s assistant Trevor Brown was aboard for Archipenko’s Sunday morning exercise.

Sunday, August 03 2008

Hypocrite wins Valid Video Stakes at Calder

Hypocrite rallied after the leaders set a rapid pace to win Saturday's $55,000 Valid Video Stakes at Calder Race Course. The victory in the race for 3-year-olds was the first in a stakes race for Hypocrite and his second in three Calder starts this year."

Akronism comes north, takes Royal North

TORONTO, August 2 * Robert Evans' Akronism won Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Royal North Stakes at Woodbine.

The Timothy Ritchey trainee sat just off a hotly contested pace early pace duel in the six-furlong turf event, then rallied stoutly down the E.P. Taylor Turf Course to win by 3 ¾ lengths. Becky Sharp was second, a neck ahead of mutuel favourite Marina Ballerina.

HALL OF FAMER MOTT LOOKING FOR SIXTH HALL OF FAME STAKES WIN

Ten years ago, at the age of 45, Bill Mott became the youngest trainer ever inducted into Thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame. On Monday, after recognizing this year’s inductees that include trainer Carl Nafzger and jockey Edgar Prado, Mott will cross Union Avenue in search of his sixth victory in the 24th edition of the Grade 2, $150,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes.

“We’ve had some nice horses coming into this race,” said Mott, who will saddle Donald Adams’ Adriano in the nine-furlong event on the turf. “It’s all timing. Horses tend to come around this time of the year. Also, all of those horses weren’t over-raced during the winter.”

SARATOGA RACE COURSE NOTES; Saturday, August 2, 2008

Carl Nafzger, who is to be inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame on Monday, reflected on the past two years as he stood outside former assistant Ian Wilkes’ barn at Clare Court, where the atmosphere was much more subdued than just a year ago when Nafzger saddled James Tafel’s Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense to victories under jockey Calvin Borel in both the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, as well as sending out Bentley Smith’s Lady Joanne to win the Grade 1 Alabama.

“True retirement is altering your occupation a little bit and still doing what you love,” said Nafzger, who stepped down from full-time training in 2006 but still conditions several horses for his longtime clients. “All these years, they owned and bred and raced. To ‘end’ our career together with an Alabama win for Mr. Smith, 80-something years old, and a Travers win for Mr. Tafel, 80-something years old – that’s a blessing. That’s what I call a miracle.”

BIG BROWN ARRIVES AT MONMOUTH FOR HASKELL INVITATIONA

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Big Brown arrived quietly on the Monmouth Park backstretch at 8 a.m. Saturday and settled into trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.’s barn as he gets ready for a major test in Sunday’s $1 million Haskell Invitational Presented by Vonage (G1).

Winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but pulled up in the Belmont Stakes, Big Brown makes his first start since that enigmatic effort on June 7 in the mile and an eighth Haskell. The Boundary colt starts from Post 4 and will be an odds-on favorite against six rivals with regular rider Kent Desormeaux aboard.

Southern Rocketop Ignites Hawthornes Night of Champions

Stickney, IL--The fourth annual Night of Champions at Hawthorne Race Course on Saturday, August 2 anointed the newest kings and queens of Illinois-breds. Eight divisions of 2 and 3-year pacers and trotters of both sexes battled it out for supremacy. They were led by Southern Rocketop, who for the second straight week obliterated the track record for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings, and Maxter, who won his eighth straight race and cemented his hold on the 3-year-old trotting division. In addition, leading driver Mike Oosting and Brent Holland each won three stakes.

Here’s a brief recap of each race as the champions were crowned.