Santa Anita Park
- Ron McAnally trainee Prepo will run in the King's Cup in Saudi
Arabia in March.
- Savinio, who finished fifth in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr.
I) in his last race, will run at Santa Anita in March as his first
race back. Savinio is now eight years old.
- Awesome Daze is being pointed for the Crystal Water Handicap
on March 15, but might run once before that.
- Dixie Pearl will run once more before being retired.
- Sprinter Raw Gold is pointing toward the February 22 Las
Flores Handicap (gr. III).
- Crafty Friend, who raced well behind Grade I stakes horses all
last year, will race in the Turf Paradise Breeders' Cup at 1 1/16
miles on February 7 as his first race since finishing 12th in the
Breeders' Cup Classic (gr.I).
- Souvenir Copy will head out of California to the Fair Grounds
and Turfway Park on his road to the Triple Crown.
- Frank Lyons has returned to training horses on the Southern
California circuit. Best known for his upset win in the 1995
Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) with Desert Stormer, Lyons took two
years off to be a jockey's agent for Rene Douglas.
- Kingdom Found has sore muscles, further delaying his return to
the races.
- Goodwood Handicap (gr. II) winner Benchmark has returned to
training.
- Nationalore is still a maiden. The colt who finished third in
the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) did so again in a 1 1/16 mile
maiden special weight for California-breds at Santa Anita on
Saturday.
- The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association announced
their California-bred champions. John Mabee's Golden Eagle Farm
collected three awards: the 2-Year-Old Filly championship for
their homebred Career Collection, Older Filly or Mare championship
for Avenue of Gold, and 3-Year-Old Filly championship for Fleet
Lady. John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery received two awards, one for
their homebred Free House, for 3-Year-Old Male, and for Gastown
for Turf Horse. The Older Male category was won by Awesome Daze,
bred by Robert Monroy, and the 2-Year-Old Male championship was
awarded to Ex Marks the Cop, a homebred for Richard Novak. The
California-bred Horse of the Year will be announced at the CTBA
Awards dinner February 17 in Sacramento.
- Prosperous Bid is being taught to relax and rate, so as yet
his next start is unknown.
Gulfstream Park
- Countess Diana (1997 2-Year-Old Filly Eclipse Award winner)
has been sent to trainer Bill Mott's barn. She will be joining her
former stablemate, Favorite Trick, at Payson Park in Florida. Mott
also receives Richter Scale, winner of the Jerome and Derby Trial,
who is owned by Nancy and Richard Kaster (part owners of Countess
Diana).
- Glitter Woman is headed to the Shirley Jones Handicap (gr.
III) on February 4.
- John Kimmel had back surgery three weeks ago but is already
back at Gulfstream Park. The trainer of champion Hidden Lake had
hurt his back skiing last winter.
Golden Gate
- The Brown Bess Handicap (gr. IIIT) at 1 1/16th miles on the
turf for fillies and mares is likely to be taken off the turf this
Saturday and run on the dirt. Nevertheless, last year's winner
Traces of Gold will run and face other probable starters Tassa,
Timely View, Chile Chatte, Take Her To Heart, La Soberbia, and
Taurus Forus.
Oaklawn Park
- Phantom on Tour, second in last year's Arkansas Derby (gr. II)
and sixth in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) is back! Not running since
the Derby, he finished second by a nose in his first start of
1998, a six-furlong allowance event at the Fair Grounds on January
2. Trainer Lynn Whiting had Phantom on Tour ready on Sunday as he
won the $40,000 Crabapple Handicap over Oaklawn Park's opening
weekend. The 4-year-old colt won the one-mile event in time
1:37.02 by a neck over Brush With Pride.
- Trainer Randy Morse became the first trainer to win both the
Dixie Belle for 3-year-old fillies and its counterpart, the
Dixieland for males opening weekend at Oaklawn Park. Prospector's
Son won for the fillies, and Troy's Play won for the colts.
- Four-year-old Capote Belle is training at Oaklawn and pointing
toward the one-mile American Beauty Stakes on February 7.
- The President's stepfather Dick Kelley attended the races
opening day at Oaklawn Park. He was married to Virginia Clinton
Kelley, President Clinton's late mother.
The Fair Grounds
- Canada's Dance Brightly, a son of Dance Smartly, arrived at
the Fair Grounds to begin his 3-year-old campaign. The colt won a
maiden race impressively, then had a bad trip and only missed by
1-* lengths in grade 1 company.
- Star of Broadway is training at the Fair Grounds although her
next race is expected to be the Las Virgenes Stakes (gr. I) at
Santa Anita on February 15. The winner of the Thelma Stakes at
Fair Grounds on January 10 will then ship back to New Orleans for
the $300,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. III) on March 14, where she
will meet Silver Maiden.
- Five-year-old J.J.'s Dream is also training at the Fair
Grounds for an out-of-town race. She is expected to make her 1998
debut in the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap (gr. III) at
Laurel in Maryland on February 14.
- Bryan Krantz, President and General Manager of the Fair
Grounds, announced the track's second purse increase of the
season. The New Orleans Handicap (gr. III) went from $300,000 to
$500,000 guaranteed. The Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. III) was increased
to $300,000 guaranteed, and the Explosive Bid Handicap (gr. III)
is now $200,000 guaranteed. Beginning last Thursday, January 29,
all races were given a 10% purse increase except for
Louisiana-bred maiden races.
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