Sunday, October 07 2012

28-1 KING DAVID RULES IN JAMAICA

ELMONT, N.Y. – Three weeks after being claimed for $35,000, 28-1 shot King David joined the elite ranks of Grade 1 winners, rallying through the stretch under jockey Rosie Napravnik to upset Saturday’s 63rd running of the $400,000 Jamaica Handicap on the turf at Belmont Park.

Saturday, October 06 2012

BROWN UNLEASHES TURF TALENT IN PILGRIM, MISS GRILLO

ELMONT, N.Y. – Chad Brown has already won four graded stakes at NYRA tracks on the grass in 2012, and if the entries for Monday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Pilgrim and Grade 3, $150,000 Miss Grillo are any indication, the trainer will be stocked with turf talent well into the future

BELMONT PARK NOTES - Friday, October 5, 2012

• Jamaica entrant Cogito looks to give English trainer Meehan his third Grade 1 win at Belmont; Dettori to ride Cogito and two others on Saturday
• Howe Great looking for first Grade 1 win in Jamaica
• Eight turf fillies to vie in Monday’s Pebbles
• Munnings Sister will try to emulate older full brother by winning Saturday stakes
• Fields forming for G3 Knickerbocker, G3 Athenia
• It’s Tricky to remain at Belmont to prepare for Breeders’ Cup
• G3 Pilgrim, G3 Miss Grillo rescheduled for Monday

Thursday, October 04 2012

DULLAHAN ODDS-ON FAVORITE IN G1 JAMAICA ‘CAP

ELMONT, N.Y. – A three-time Grade 1 winner over synthetic tracks, Donegal Racing’s Dullahan is the 4-5 morning-line favorite to add a Grade 1 turf score to his resume when he faces seven other 3-year-olds in Saturday’s 64th running of the $400,000 Jamaica Handicap at Belmont Park.

Although winless in three starts on grass, the chestnut son of Even the Score is graded stakes-placed over the surface, having finished second in his 2012 debut to fellow Jamaica entrant Howe Great in the Grade 3 Palm Beach at Gulfstream Park and third in the Grade 2 With Anticipation last summer at Saratoga Race Course.

TODD’S TRIO TAKES ON FORTIFY IN CHAMPAGNE (G1); DREAMING OF JULIA FACES MY HAPPY FACE IN FRIZETTE (G

ELMONT, N.Y. – After sweeping last weekend’s juvenile graded stakes at Belmont Park, trainer Todd Pletcher will attempt to add victories on Saturday in the Grade 1, $400,000 Foxwoods Champagne and the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette.

Pletcher entered Shanghai Bobby, Archwarrior, and Micromanage in the Foxwoods Champagne, a one-mile race for 2-year-olds. In the one-mile Frizette for juvenile fillies, Dreaming of Julia will carry the torch for the Pletcher stable.

Sunday, September 30 2012

PLETCHER SWEEPS JUVENILE STAKES WITH KAUAI KATIE (G2 MATRON), OVERANALYZE (G2 FUTURITY)

ELMONT, N.Y. – Overwhelming favorite Kauai Katie picked up her second Grade 2 victory and ran her record to 3-for-3 on Sunday afternoon at Belmont Park, taking charge at the top of the stretch and rolling to an easy 7 ½-length victory over Baby J in the 105th running of the $200,000 Matron for 2-year-old fillies.

Two races later, stablemate Overanalyze completed the sweep of Sunday’s juvenile stakes for trainer Todd Pletcher when he closed widest of all through the stretch to take the 122nd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Futurity.

BELMONT PARK NOTES; Sunday, September 30, 2012

ELMONT, N.Y. – On Sunday morning, all was well at Bill Mott’s barn, at least for the horses.

“Everybody came back good,” the Hall of Fame trainer said outside his barn. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.

Friday, September 28 2012

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Friday, September 28, 2012

ELMONT, N.Y. – After more than a year off, Sean Avery came roaring back to win the Affiliate Stakes on September 8 at Belmont, and now will line up Saturday in the Grade 1, $400,000 Vosburgh Invitational as part of the “Super Saturday” card.

“The horse has got a ton of heart, and he’ll give you 110 percent every time you lead him over,” trainer Allen Iwinski said of the son of 1994 sprint champion Cherokee Run. “He couldn’t be training any better, and he couldn’t be any sounder than he is now. The owners set a goal to try to get him to the Breeders’ Cup.”

FRIDAY RACING CANCELLED AT BELMONT; SIX GRADED RACES ON SATURDAY

ELMONT, N.Y. – Due to anticipated heavy rain, Friday’s live racing card at Belmont Park has been cancelled to ensure the track surfaces are in optimal condition for Saturday’s card, which features six graded stakes, all part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. The winners of those races qualify for an automatic starting position in the corresponding Breeders’ Cup Championship race with pre-entry and entry fees paid.

Saturday’s 11-race card gets underway at 12:50 p.m. EDT and is highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million TVG Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational, with a 10-horse field featuring a rematch between the top four finishers from Saratoga Race Course’s Whitney Invitational – Fort Larned, Ron the Greek, Flat Out, and Hymn Book.

SUPER SATURDAY TO INCLUDE $96K PICK 6 CARRYOVER

ELMONT, N.Y. – With the Pick 6 eluding bettors for a second straight day on Thursday and Friday’s racing canceled due to anticipated heavy rain, Belmont Park’s Super Saturday card will feature a carryover of $96,841.

Belmont will conduct six graded stakes on Saturday, and five of them are part of the Pick 6 sequence.

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Thursday, September 27, 2012

ELMONT, N.Y. – After 36-1 long shot Poseidon’s Warrior won the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on August 5, surprising just about everyone but trainer Robert “Butch” Reid, a decision had to be made about his next start: Run next in the Grade 1 Forego at seven furlongs on September 1, or await the Grade 1, six-furlong Vosburgh Invitational 55 days later?

With sights set firmly on the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Reid chose to wait and run the 4-year-old son of Speightstown at his best distance, where he has won six of 12 starts.

Thursday, September 27 2012

CAIXA ELETRONICA HAS TOUGH TASK IN G1 VOSBURGH INVITATIONAL

ELMONT, N.Y. – At age 7, Caixa Eletronica has won three graded stakes and more than $1.4 million, most of it earned since being claimed for $62,500 by Mike Repole last March. On “Super Saturday” at Belmont Park, the son of Arromanches will be making his 58th career start – more than the four favorites combined – as he tries again for Grade 1 glory in the $400,000 Vosburgh Invitational.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Caixa Eletronica never threatened in his last two Grade 1 appearances, finishing eighth in the Whitney Invitational Handicap on August 4 and fourth in the Forego at Saratoga Race Course. On Saturday, he will cut back to six furlongs, at which he is 3-1-2 from seven starts, including a victory in the Grade 2 True North Handicap on June 9 at Belmont and a third in last year’s Vosburgh.