– Lava Man ran an impressive 120 Beyer speed figure for his Gold Cup win. The number puts him in the company of Ghostzapper (122 in the Met Mile) and Bellamy Road (120 in the Wood Memorial), and is a slight improvement on his last start, in which he ran a 116 (Daily Racing Form). Also: Lost in the Fog continued to improve, running a career-high 116 in the Carry Back Stakes.
– This year’s Virginia Derby could be “the best we’ve had,” said Colonial Downs general manager John Mooney. English Channel, winner of the Colonial Turf Cup, is entered along with 10 others in the Grand Slam of Grass’ second leg (Daily Press).
– The first ever Peruvian All-Stars day at River Downs is declared a success. “A larger-than-usual Monday crowd turned out to see the jockeys, donate money for autographed photos, bid on silent auction items and get treated to some Belmont-like racing.” The event was organized to showcase graduates of the Jockey School of Peru, such as Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano, and to raise money for the school (Lexington Herald-Leader).
– Over on the Derby List, there’s been quite a bit of talk about the Phoenix Trotting Park, which was open for two seasons in the mid-1960s and has sat abandoned since. All that’s left is the striking modern architecture grandstand; a trailer park sits where the backside once did. Some very cool photos of the ghost track have been linked to from the list, including this set of images showing the exterior and interior from first floor to skybox, and these three nighttime pictures.
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 07/12/2005 @ 12:25 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
The only real question about Sunday’s Carry Back Stakes at Calder was by how much Lost in the Fog would win. I thought he’d see a little challenge from Hot Space, the colt making his second career start who scored a 96 Beyer winning a maiden special in mid-June. But no, Lost in the Fog loped along in the lead from the start with rider Russell Baze aboard making no moves until the stretch, when he drew away easily under mild urging to win by more than seven lengths. Lost in the Fog made it look so effortless, it’s hard to believe that he ran a record race (SF Chronicle). His time for the six furlongs was 1:09.3, faster than any previous Carry Back, and faster than the other two grade 2 sprints on the card. Now 8-for-8, Lost in the Fog will be pointed to the King’s Bishop at Saratoga on August 27. Trainer Greg Gilchrist said he’s planning to get the unbeaten colt to upstate New York early: “I think I’ll get him into Saratoga a couple of weeks ahead of the race. I’ve never been to Saratoga, and I’ve heard all the stuff about the track, it being the ‘Graveyard of Champions’ and all that, and I’d like to work him at least once over the track before he runs there” (LA Times).
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Madcap Escapade was another big winner at Calder yesterday, bouncing back from a defeat in her last race to win the Princess Rooney Stakes by more than five lengths (Daily Racing Form). Happy Ticket finished second, suffering her first loss in 10 starts. No disgrace there. As Happy Ticket’s trainer Andrew Leggio said, “She ran great and I’m sorry she didn’t win but she got beat by a real nice horse although I’d like another chance at the winner going seven furlongs in the Ballerina.”
Posted by JC in Races/Results on 07/11/2005 @ 12:15 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Hey, Suffolk Downs players: RacingFigures.com has added Suffolk’s Monday and Tuesday cards to its offerings. An experimental Suffolk sheet prepared for last Tuesday hit an impressive number of races.
– Add Delaware’s new Choose Six wager to the list of praiseworthy betting menu innovations made by racetracks this year. “It’s an outstanding product at a price all horseplayers crave” (NTRA).
– Bad week at Belmont. The breakdown of Up and Down in the fifth race on Sunday was the third fatality in a week at the track (New York Daily News).
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 07/11/2005 @ 10:10 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
