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| Bernardini was not one in the top bracket in 2006 whenever there was talk about three year-olds in the United States. The Withers Stakes provided the platform for Bernardini to advertise his claims and go on to win the Preakness. The Grade III Withers will be run at Aqueduct on Saturday. There is a purse of $150,000 and it is over 1600 metres on the dirt. Seven sophomores will go to post and This Ones For Phil, trained by Richard Dutrow, Jr is the 8-5 morning line favorite. Aqueduct’s spring meeting ends this week and Belmont Park begins its 64-day campaign on April 29. Belmont Park’s flagship race is the Belmont Stakes to be run on Saturday, June 6. The Belmont Stakes is the final leg of the American Triple Crown. This Ones For Phil won the Sunshine Millions Sprint this year. In the Grade II Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, This Ones For Phil was moved to first after running second to Big Drama. The stewards held that Big Drama had bumped This Ones For Phil and reversed the placings. The time of 1 20.88 set a record for the 1400-metre trip at Gulfstream Park. Ramon Dominguez will ride This Ones For Phil. Hawthorne in Chicago presents ‘Illinois Champions Day’ on Saturday. The last day of racing at Hawthorne is on Monday. Racing moves to Arlington Park, Chicago’s premier track. In England, a million pounds awaits the winner of Saturday’s Scoop6. Three races from Ripon and three races from Sandown form the six-race puzzle that Scoop6 hunters need to solve. Sandown Park in England presents a mixed card on Saturday. There are four flat races and four ‘jumps’ races. There are two flat races of some significance. The sixth race is the Bet365 Mile. Paco Boy, a failure in the Dubai Duty Free in late March, makes his 2009 debut in England. Winner of the Prix la Foret at Longchamp over the Arc weekend last October, the Richard Hannon-trained Paco Boy will be ridden by Richard Hughes. Trainer Hannon has confirmed that if Paco Boy does well on Saturday, his trainee’s next race will be Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes three weeks from Saturday. In the same Sandown card, Tartan Bearer swings back to action this year in the Gordon Richard Stakes. It is a 2000-metre race. Tartan Bearer, a colt by Spectrum, was second to New Approach in the Epsom Derby last June. As the 11-10 favorite in the Irish Derby, the Michael Stoute pupil was interfered with and finished fourth. Tartan Bearer was moved to third after an inquiry. An ambitious campaign has been readied for Tartan Bearer this year. Ryan Moore, England’s champion jockey last year, has the mount on Saturday. Aidan O’Brien has revealed plans about his sophomores and the Guineas races in England and France. Westphalia and Set Sail are going to the French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp. Master Craftsman and Rip Van Winkle will represent O’Brien in Newmarket’s 2000 Guineas. Naaqoos is out of the English 2000 Guineas. The Oasis Dream Colt, the pride of the Freddie Head establishment, will take his chances in the French 2000 Guineas. Trainer Head said, “we have finally decided to stay in France and run Naaqoos in the Poule d’Eassai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) at Longchamp. He knows Longchamp quite well and we did not want to take the risk of going to England at this stage in his career. He has been entered in the St James Palace Stakes at (Royal) Ascot and may go there. He has been working extremely well.” On Sunday, Sha Tin at Hong Kong hosts the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Archipenko, the defending champion, is back and is a 3-1 chance. Viva Pataca, the local favorite, is the 2-1 choice. Presvis, the English runner in excellent form, is a 9-4 possibility. Niconero heads the best with a 7-1 quote. Visionaire was a Derby prospect last year. Now four, Visionaire has been retired. Visionaire’s biggest win came in the Grade I King’s Bishop at Saratoga in 2008. The Mike Matz-trained Visionaire also won the Gotham Stakes. Trainer Matz explained, “he most likely suffered a knee chip in the King’s Bishop. Surgery was done but he has not been training to our satisfaction.” By Grand Slam out of Scarlet Tango by French Deputy, Visionaire won five times in 12 outings for earnings of $465,882. Here is an item that is making headlines all over the world. A Florida pharmacy incorrectly prepared a supplement. Twenty one polo horses, being prepared for a championship match, were given the supplement. All of them died. There is an official investigation. Jennifer Beckett of Franck’s pharmacy in Ocala, Florida made a statement. “The strength of an ingredient in the medication was incorrect.” Here is news coming out on Friday. Quality Road's Derby status is uncertain. You may remember that the Elusive Quality colt is recovering from a quarter crack. Things were beginning to point to an upward curve. On Thursday, Quality Road went for a routine gallop at Belmont Park. When the colt returned, trainer Jimmy Jerkens noticed a new problem. There was a quarter crack inside of the colt's right front hoof. Treatment is to begin immediately. A quarter crack appears in the hoof wall. It , more often than not, shows up at the coronet band, the area where the hoof and the hair meet. A crack , sometimes, can go upward. Sources:NTRA, Racing Post and TV reports |
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