Racing News

Certify will on Thursday become the most high-profile of Godolphin's 22 horses banned in the anabolic steroid scandal last spring to return to the racecourse.

The filly, a leading contender for the 1,000 Guineas at the time of her six-month suspension, contests the Group 2 Cape Verdi Stakes at Meydan, the highlight of the fourth meeting of the Dubai World Cup carnival. 

Suggestive Boy, who went to the sidelines with a splint injury last spring, returns from an 11-month absence to defend his title in the $200,000 Arcadia Stakes (gr. IIT) Feb. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

The mile turf specialist from Argentina put together back-to-back wins in the Arcadia and the Frank Kilroe Mile (gr. IT) last year at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally and owner Pozo de Luna. The 6-year-old bay horse by Easing Along has been on the worktab at Santa Anita since early December, negotiating seven furlongs in 1:27 3/5 in his final prep for the Arcadia Jan. 23. 

Wednesday’s (Jan. 29) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Meadows and Dover Downs.

Jockey John Velazquez, coming back from a serious injury sustained last fall during the Breeders' Cup World Championships, got his first win in six tries at Gulfstream Park when 2-5 choiceGot Lucky cruised to victory in the eighth race Jan. 29.

The Hall of Fame rider had posted a pair of seconds since returning to the saddle but was able to celebrate a victory aboard Got Lucky following the one-mile maiden special weight event. The 3-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy scored by 5 1/4 lengths for trainer Todd Pletcher and the partnership that bred the filly, Hill 'N' Dale Equine Holdings and Philip J. Steinberg.

A Stitch In Time has won 13 of his 19 starts, with a growing number of stakes trophies on the mantle, but his runner-up finish in last week’s Open Pace at Cal Expo impressed pilot Mooney Svendsen as much as any of those victories.

The 4-year-old homebred son of Kent’s On Nuke, who carries the banner of Mark Anderson and hails from the Gordie Graham barn, flew home for Svendsen in last week’s assignment but came up short of catching the free-wheeling front end favorite One And Only that evening.

“That was as a good a race as he’s ever gone for me,” Svendsen related. “He came that final quarter in :26.2 and he would have definitely won if we would have come first over and not had a roadblock ahead of us.

-Little Man Joe turned back eight rivals in 1:54.2 to at Dover Downs on Tuesday (Jan.28).

Corey Callahan rung up his first of two wins guiding Tina Clark’s Little Man Joe to victory in the $20,000 4&5-Year-Old Claiming Allowance pace. The Bobby Clark trainee, a Western Terror-Ain’t Given Up gelding, held off a strong stretch charge by Terror On My Side (Jonathan Roberts) for his first win of 2014. Ilikethemtrashy (Jim Morand) closed to pick up show money.

Just like the mailman, Yonkers Raceway is making its appointed rounds -- all 12 of them tonight (Jan. 28).

Despite the brisk temperatures, the Raceway’s program is forging ahead as scheduled this evening, with the usual 7:10 p.m. first post. The card includes a $10,000 guaranteed Pick-5 pool.

Edison, 3-year-old son of Bernardini   who cost $950,000 last March, graduated in a front-running style on the Gulfstream Park turf in his second maiden special weight start Jan. 26 (VIDEO).

He was the second son of Bernardini to break his maiden on turf in the past week for the winning connections—owners Susan Magner, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, and trainer Todd Pletcher. Bernardini, not generally regarded as a top sire of turf horses, also sired Gala Award, who broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles on the grass at Gulfstream Jan. 20 after having run second in his Dec. 7 debut.

Ridden in the eighth race by Luis Saez, 8-1 shot Edison broke running the rail post and never stopped, leaving 6-5 favorite Notability behind at the top of the stretch. He pulled pulling clear to win by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:49.22 for nine furlongs on a firm turf course.

Sahara Sky, nearing his first start since winning the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) last spring, worked six furlongs in company Jan. 26 at Santa Anita Park for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

The $200,000 Palos Verde Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 2 at six furlongs is expected to be the first start back for the 6-year-old son of Pleasant Tap. Sahara Sky worked in tandem with 4-year-old Joelito Sunday and both were timed in 1:13 3/5 handily.

The talented Sahara Sky has had published workouts on a weekly basis going back to early December. He posted six drills over the Santa Anita main track since Dec. 27, and the past three have been at six panels.

Mr Speaker will return to turf following a seventh-place finish in the $400,000 Miller Lite Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III), his first start on dirt Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park, trainer Shug McGaughey said.

The Hall of Fame conditioner has another fast-developing prospect that bears watching on the Triple Crown trail in Top Billing, an impressive allowance winner earlier on the same card, however. 

Speaking the morning after the Holy Bull, McGaughey said he felt that Mr Speaker did not transfer his strong grass form to the main track. The Phipps Stable homebred had won his last two starts on turf, including a rallying success in the Dania Beach Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream.

Odds-on choice Admiral Kitten surged through the stretch to catchFredericksburg just in time for a neck victory in the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup (gr. IIIT) (VIDEO) on the night of Jan. 25 at Sam Houston Race Park.

The victory for Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred son of Kitten's Joy   came one race after another heavy favorite,Sum of the Parts, set a record for five furlongs on the same turf course in the $75,000 Champion Energy Services Stakes.

HP Forte, the seemingly weaker half of the Mark O'Mara trained but uncoupled entry, pulled off a 13-1 upset in the $11,000 Open Trot at Pompano Park on Wednesday night (Jan. 29) in 1:55.2.

Hollywood Starlet (gr. I) winnerStreaming puts her unbeaten mark on the line when she returns in grade I company for the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes Feb. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Bob Baffert for owner/breeders Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Edward McGhee, theSmart Strike   filly drew the far outside post for her 3-year-old debut against seven other sophomore fillies. This will be Streaming's first start since she upset the Starlet Dec. 7 on the Betfair Hollywood Park Cushion Track by 1 1/2 lengths at odds of nearly 11-1. She pressed the pace that day before getting the lead from Taste Like Candy in the stretch and inching clear in an impressive performance.

Wildcat Red, beaten a head in the one-mile Gulfstream Park Derby, drops back to seven furlongs in the Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park Feb. 1, where he will face nine sophomore opponents.

The Florida-bred son of D'wildcat  –Racene, by Miner’s Mark, broke his maiden going six furlongs and then finished first in the state-bred Juvenile Sprint at Gulfstream only to be disqualified to second for interference in the stretch.

Owned by honors Stable Corp and trained by Jose Garoffalo, Wildcat Red was sent off at 7-2 in the Jan. 1 Gulfstream Derby, racing head-and-head from the quarter pole before dropping a head decision toGeneral a Rod. Javier Castellano replaces Paco Lopez and will break from post 5.

Fresh off a victory over the Tampa Bay Downs turf course, Nicklaus Way goes in search of his first graded stakes win for trainer Ian Wilkes Feb. 1 in the $150,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Stakes (gr. IIIT).

Nicklaus Way faces 11 opponents in the Tampa Bay, which immediately follows the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) for 3-year-olds on the Saturday card in Florida. Other contenders for the 1 1/16-mile grass test, race 10 on the program with a scheduled post time of 4:55 p.m. EST, are former Canadian turf champion Riding the River,Salto, Philly Ace, and Super Chunky.

Owner Willis Horton has been hunkering down to avoid the arctic blast that is freezing much of the country, including his home state of Arkansas. But Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas is turning up the heat on Horton's champion runner Will Take Charge, sending the newly turned 4-year-old through final preparations for his 2014 debut.

Will Take Charge, who last year galloped to victory in the Smarty Jones Stakes, Rebel Stakes (gr. II), Travers Stakes (gr. I), Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II), and Clark Handicap (gr. I) with a nose loss in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) after running in all three Triple Crown races, worked a handy six furlongs from the gate at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 26 in 1:14 4/5.

He remains on course for a start in the $500,000 Donn Handicap (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 9, which was moved one day from its original scheduling—to Sunday instead of Saturday—in order to kick off the Jockey Club Tour on Fox television.

Strapping Groom makes his return to the graded ranks Feb. 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack in the $150,000 Toboggan Stakes (gr. III), a six-furlong sprint on the Withers (gr. III) undercard.

Claimed by trainer David Jacobson for $35,000 on May 23, the 7-year-oldJohannesburg runner proved an immediate bargain by capturing the $100,000 Lion Cavern in his next start atBelmont Park, and eventually went on to upset a field of eight in the Forego (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course at odds of 15-1. The win was a first grade I for both Jacobson and co-owner Drawing Away Stable.

Vagabond Shoes is scheduled to make his first start since finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT)  when he runs in the $200,000 Arcadia Stakes (gr. IIT) for older horses Feb. 1 at one mile on the Santa Anita Park turf.

"He can run a mile," trainer John Sadler said of the 7-year-old Irish-bred gelding, noting Vagabond Shoes had extensive experience at the distance while running in France.

"He's an older horse and he had a hard campaign last year," Sadler added in explaining the brief absence. "We've got him fresh for this year."

After breezing colts Corfu and Trail Blazethe morning of Jan. 26 at Palm Meadows Training Center, trainer Todd Pletcher said both may run next in the upcoming Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II).

Trail Blaze went five furlongs in a bullet 1:00.70, best of 25 at the distance, while Corfu was timed in 1:00.90, which was ranked second best.  

"They worked well. We'll see how they come out of it and go from there," Pletcher said. "They're both under consideration."

Rose to Gold picked up the fourth graded stakes win of her career after running down favored Unusual Way to win the second renewal of the $400,000Houston Ladies Classic (VIDEO) on the night of Jan. 25 at Sam Houston Race Park.

Rose to Gold, who broke from the inside post in the field of eight older fillies and mares, was never far off the rail while ridden to victory by Jesus Rios for trainer Sal Santoro. After tracking pacesetter Unusual Way in third, the 4-year-old daughter of Friends Lake slipped past her along the inside in deep stretch to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths.

"(Rios) saw a little daylight, and Rose was pretty courageous," said Santoro. "I am proud of them both."