Trainer Todd Pletcher, already planning to enter King of the Roxy in the Preakness, surprised on Monday with the announcement that he’s strongly considering Circular Quay for the race as well. Circular Quay, who worked four furlongs in :44.4 with A.P. Arrow on Monday morning, finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby. “Basically since the Derby he’s trained very well, and I just wanted to keep my options opens,” said Pletcher (DRF). Running Circular Quay back in two weeks would be a very un-Pletcher like move: According to Formulator, he’s started horses off such short rest just 177 times out of 4,814 races in the last five years (3.7%). Of those, he’s won 30 (17%) and finished in the money 87 times (47%). In graded stakes, Pletcher has 21 such starts out of 885 in the past five years (2.4%), winning two (10%), both in 2004, and finishing in the money seven times (33%).
Tuesday morning update: DRF reports that Circular Quay will start in the Preakness.
Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 05/14/2007 @ 9:15 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– A speedy Songster dazzled in his first start off a nine month layoff, wiring the Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont in 1:08.8 (DRF) and earning a new Beyer high of 109 for the effort.
– Also at Belmont: Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s hot streak continued with second-time starter Daheer in the fourth, who paid $27.00 to win and was one of two longshots that jockey Alan Garcia brought home on Saturday. The other was career maiden Gold Pageantry, out of Howard Tesher’s barn, in the second, who finally found a field he couldn’t lose against and paid $35.60 to win. Daheer’s a full brother to Grade 1 winner Spun Sugar, who was retired early this year (NTRA). McLaughlin’s won with three of his last four starters and is now sitting on top of Belmont’s trainer standings with a 6-for-10 record since the meet’s opening.
– In the Hilltop Stakes, “Street Sounds essentially got paid for a one-mile workout at Pimlico on Saturday” (DRF). The Street Cry filly, coming off a dominating win at 9-1 in the Grade 2 Beaumont at Keeneland last month, was sent to post as the 1-5 favorite and earned a 94 Beyer.
– Slew’s Tizzy could be headed to the Belmont, following a 1 3/4 lengths win over a sloppy track in the Lone Star Derby (Blood-Horse).
– At Hollywood, Sunday: Longshot Ashley’s Kitty came from off the pace and three wide to win the Railbird Stakes, beating favorite Silver Swallow to the wire by a nose. The race was apprentice Joe Talamo’s third win of the day and his first graded stakes score. Sindy With an S, coming off an allowance win and getting her first big class test, dueled with Storm Queen for the early lead as the two set fast, fast fractions of :21.61 and :43.98 for the first half. Sindy With an S finished third; Storm Queen faded badly to sixth.
Posted by JC in Track Notes on 05/13/2007 @ 7:30 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Fleetheart wins, pays $4.80. I make nothing. My online betting service is an AmericaTab outlet and I’m shut out of Southern California and New York, the two circuits I play with any seriousness, thanks to the TrackNet-ADW mess, until — like a lot of other players — I go through the bother of opening and funding a second acount. So, all I could do last night was admire how the four-year-old filly dueled for the early lead and then rebuffed a game Lochinvar’s Gold in the stretch to win by half a length, and console myself with the thought that I really didn’t want to play a 7-5 shot, even one who looked as much like a sure thing as she did.
– The champ is back! In his first work since winning the Dubai World Cup, Invasor breezed four furlongs at Belmont on Wednesday morning (NYRA). Invasor is scheduled to start next in the Suburban on June 30.
Posted by JC in Betting on 05/10/2007 @ 8:00 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
