OLDER, WISER IN CALIFORNIA.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with ARCADIA - It's widely agreed that the nation's best 3-year-olds, the glamour candidates for the Kentucky Derby, are clustered on the East Coast this season. In the early battle for regional bragging rights, Florida- based Read the Footnotes, Eurosilver and Birdstone have the edge. California's Action This Day, Master David and Lion Heart have some catching up to do. But first things first. Before the 3-year-olds have run any major races, the older horses will have run several big ones, and in the thoroughbreds' heavyweight division it's the Californians who are asserting superiority. --Five-year-old Medaglia d'Oro, who resides in Bobby Frankel's Hollywood Park barn, hid from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of hero Funny Cide and other easterners in the $500,000 Donn Handicap on Feb. 7 at Gulfstream Park near Miami. --Four-year-olds Ten Most Wanted, based here with Wally Dollase, and Peace Rules, another trained by Frankel, should be favored over Funny Cide and the rest of a strong field in the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap The New Orleans Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Open to horses four years old and up, the race is run at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. It currently offers a purse of $500,000. at the Fair Grounds on Saturday. --Here at home, 6-year-old Pleasantly Perfect, the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. winner, will be solidly favored over 4-year-old Southern Image and as many as eight others in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during on March 6. When the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's first rankings of the season came out this week, Medaglia d'Oro, Pleasantly Perfect and Southern Image were 1-2-3 and nine of the top 11 older non-sprinters on the list were California-based. ``I would say the best three are out here,'' said Mike Machowsky, trainer of the up-and-coming Southern Image, a winner of four out of five starts going into the Santa Anita Handicap. ``We'll find out next week, I guess. (Southern Image) sure acts like he's one of them.'' The high-ranked Californians in the NTRA NTRA National Thoroughbred Racing Association NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Egypt) NTRA National Training Reform Agenda NTRA Nano Technology Research Association (Korea) poll include some chancy chanc·y adj. chanc·i·er, chanc·i·est 1. Uncertain as to outcome; risky; hazardous. 2. Random; haphazard. 3. Scots Lucky; propitious. ones - No. 5 Congaree, coming off a last-place finish in the San Antonio Handicap The San Antonio Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park each year. The race is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. The Grade II event offers a purse of $250,000. Round Table won this race in 1958. , No. 12 Candy Ride, unraced since he won the Pacific Classic, and No. 15 Azeri, the Horse of the Year mare in career limbo. They also include some intriguing ones - No. 6 Island Fashion, a 4-year- old filly, and No. 7 Domestic Dispute, the bounce-back Strub Stakes winner - who are being considered to run in the Santa Anita Handicap. The ``probable'' entry list for the race known locally as the Big 'Cap (with jockeys if named): Pleasantly Perfect (Alex Solis), Southern Image (Victor Espinoza), Star Cross (Corey Nakatani), Royal Place (Jose Valdivia Jr.), Saint Buddy (Tyler Baze), Sarava (Javier Santiago), Toccet (Emile Ramsammy), Buddy Gil, Domestic Dispute and Olmodavor. Weight assignments for the 67th running of the 1 1/4-mile race will be announced Saturday. Entries will be finalized Wednesday. Domestic Dispute trainer Paddy Gallagher planned to meet with the owners to decide whether to try the Big 'Cap, which would be the colt's fourth start in 10 weeks. Gallagher is relieved that although Pleasantly Perfect is running in the Big 'Cap, Medaglia d'Oro is aiming for even bigger things in the Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on March 27. --Eric to return? Minister Eric will have to draw into the field from the also-eligible list if the Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. runner-up is to make his 3-year-old debut in the $100,000 Baldwin Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. At least two horses will have to be scratched to allow Minister Eric into the 10-horse field. The Baldwin conditions give preference to winners of a first-place purse of $25,000. Despite Minister Eric's $387,920 in career earnings, the colt has won only a maiden race. --Trainer dies: John Russell, best known for training Susan's Girl to a championship, died Wednesday at his home in Del Mar after a long fight with cancer. He was 67 years old and had saddled his last horses in 1995. Russell, who was active in horsemen's organizations and wrote about racing, was a leading critic in the 1990s of California medication-rule enforcement policies that he believed unfairly penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. trainers. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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