Dr. Venkman

A bevy of horses pre-entered in next weekend's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar worked Saturday at Santa Anita. Out in force were horses trained by Bob Baffert and Phil D'Amato, who combined pre-entered 18 horses to the 41st Breeders' Cup. D'Amato worked all eight of his Breeders' Cup pre-entrants. One Magic Philly (Good Magic) (Filly & Mare Sprint), winner of the GIII Chillingworth Stakes last out, and Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) (Juvenile Fillies), second in the GI Del Mar Debutante, worked in company. One Magic Philly was clocked...

Runners gearing up towards the GI FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic worked over the weekend with three weeks to the big race. Last year's winner, 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) may not return to defend his title after finishing fourth in the GII San Diego per trainer Bob Baffert. "He's doing fine," Baffert said. "But I don't know what I'm going to run in the Pacific Classic." Meanwhile Subsanador (Fortify), one of two Argentine-breds thought to be headed to the Pacific Classic, will instead run in the GIII Iselin...

The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) exited his win in Saturday's GI Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar in fine shape and trainer Eric Kruljac is already thinking of options to get the classy Cal-bred to the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. "He's doing super," Kruljac said Sunday morning. "He wasn't tired and cleaned up his feed. He looks like a million bucks." The Chosen Vron won his sixth straight race while successfully defending his Bing Crosby title. The race awarded the 6-year-old gelding an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Last...

In a race featuring the return of heralded 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo), it was the lightly-raced 4-year-old Dr. Venkman (Ghostzapper) who stole the show en route to a win in the GII San Diego Handicap Saturday at Del Mar. A winner last year of his first two starts at Del Mar by a combined 10 3/4 lengths, the Mark Glatt runner shipped east to just miss by a head in the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland in October. Off a long layoff, he reappeared in California to contest...

Trainer Chad Brown has long stated that a victory in the GI Travers S., not far from home in Mechanicville, would be one of the crowning moments of what will be a Hall of Fame career. 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) is the barn's main hope for the centerpiece of the Saratoga meeting and he can take one giant step towards fulfilling his trainer's dream as the likely favorite in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy Stakes. The colt, who topped the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale not far from the...

Snapping a six-race slide and returning to the winner's enclosure for the first-time since his GII Gotham S. win in the spring, Raise Cain (c, 3, Violence--Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid) nipped Dr. Venkman (Ghostzapper) in the shadow of the wire to score in the Perryville S. The aforementioned GI Kentucky Derby prep race has been his only victory in 2023, and in pairing with a nose runner-up effort in the GIII Indiana Derby July 8 to familiar foe GSW & MGISP Verifying (Justify), has been the only time...

2nd-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 7-21, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:15.18, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. DR. VENKMAN (g, 3, Ghostzapper--Theory of Change, by Archarcharch), one of two first-starters in the field, took a fair bit of action at 4-1 with apprentice Armando Aguilar claiming a five-pound weight allowance. Off to a bit of a hesitant beginning, the $105,000 KEESEP yearling quickly made up for lost time and was right in behind the leading trio approaching the turn. Traveling strongly on the bend, he was produced four wide into the lane and pulled...