Things to know today
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Book’em Danno could miss the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. The reigning champion male sprinter was scratched from the Grade 1 Forego on 29 August after getting cast in his stall the night before, and his trainer Derek Ryan says there may now not be time to get a run into him beforehand, with the Grade 3 Vosburg at Belmont Park on 26 September and the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland on 3 October the options. “If he doesn’t get a run before the Breeders’ Cup, we are not going to run,” Ryan said, adding that he rates Englishman the best three-year-old in the country (Paulick Report) |
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Mark Casse sent Nitrogen and Sandman out for their final Saratoga works on Wednesday morning, on his last day at the meet before shipping to Kentucky Downs. Nitrogen went five furlongs in 1:00.46 under Edwin Soto and is pointed to the Grade 2 Locust Grove at Churchill Downs on 12 September before the Breeders’ Cup, most likely the Distaff. Sandman, who has not run since March, worked the same distance in 59.88 seconds and goes to Belmont Park for an allowance race. “Today’s breeze was the best I’ve ever seen him,” Casse said (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
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Stellify goes for a third win at Kentucky Downs in Sunday’s Grade 3 Ladies Marathon Invitational, worth 1.5 million dollars over a mile and five sixteenths. The Brad Cox trained mare is two from two at the track and is ridden by Flavien Prat for Elements Racing, George Messina and Michael Lee. “She was training lights out, and she’s still training lights out,” Messina said (The Mint Kentucky Downs) |
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English Actor and Side Street meet again in Saturday’s Grade 3 Singspiel at Woodbine, worth 175,000 dollars over a mile and three eighths on the E. P. Taylor turf course, having finished first and second in the Niagara on 8 August. Both are trained by Rachel Halden. Ten are declared. “The Singspiel was the logical next place to aim with him,” Halden said of English Actor, a five-year-old homebred for Chiefswood Stables (Paulick Report) |
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Gulfstream Park opens its Sunshine Meet on Friday with a nine-race programme, carrying 14 stakes worth 1.925 million dollars in all, of which 250,000 comes from the Florida-Bred Incentive Fund. The Grade 3 Princess Rooney, worth 225,000 dollars over seven furlongs for fillies and mares, is run in its 40th year on Saturday 12 September and is a qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. The Championship Meet follows on 26 November (Paulick Report) |
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The Louisiana State Racing Commission has approved an amended plea agreement with the jockey C. J. McMahon, who is suspended for 180 days from 8 September after stewards ruled he shoved Juan Vargas during a race at Evangeline Downs on 2 July. For the first 90 days he must complete a behavioural course at his own expense, after which he may be granted an exercise rider licence. He may reapply for a jockey licence after the 180 days and would then be on probation for six months (Paulick Report) |
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Little Miss Vivi topped the Fasig-Tipton August digital sale at 280,000 dollars, bought by Sobhy Sonbol from Legacy Bloodstock, agent for Tommy Town Thoroughbreds. The Uncle Mo mare, out of Embur’s Song, is in foal to Gunite. The sale grossed 5,790,000 dollars from 198 sold at an 86 per cent clearance rate. Fasig-Tipton’s director of digital sales Leif Aaron said there were 1,247 registered bidders (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
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Kupuna held on by a nose to win Thursday’s Bernard Baruch at Saratoga, worth 200,000 dollars over a mile and a sixteenth on the Mellon turf course and run for the 68th time. The seven-year-old Hard Spun horse led throughout for Ricardo Santana Jr., passing the three quarters in 1:11.46 and the mile in 1:35.36 before a final time of 1:41.73, with Pass the Hat second throughout and Uncle Gold third. It was a first Bernard Baruch for Santana and for the trainer Norm Casse, and an eighth win for Kupuna, who races for Flying P Stable and has now passed 830,000 dollars in earnings (DRF en Español) |
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Glycogen gave the freshman sire Jack Christopher his first stakes winner in Friday’s P. G. Johnson at Saratoga, worth 200,000 dollars for two-year-old fillies on turf, in a time of 1:43.94 with Mel Went Home second. She is trained by John C. Servis for Main Line Racing Stable and Avalon Racing Stables, was bred in Kentucky by H. Allen Poindexter out of the Giant’s Causeway mare My Sugar Bear, and cost 180,000 dollars at the Fasig-Tipton July sale. She broke her maiden at Ellis Park on 31 July (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
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