Met Mile

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) will miss the John A. Nerud Stakes at Belmont's Aqueduct meet according to a report from C Two Racing Stable. The 5-year-old, who was moved back to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. after finishing off the board in both the G1 Saudi Cup and the GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap for trainer Rick Dutrow, had been targeting the July 6 cutback but is still getting over an illness following his start in the Met Mile. "We are not going...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--The morning-line odds may have suggested that a showdown between Classic winning National Treasure (Quality Road) and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) could be in the offing in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H., a 'Win and You're In' for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. After the dust had settled, however, it proved to be more of a procession for the Bob Baffert runner, who streaked home a much-the-best 6 1/4-length winner over Post Time (Frosted). Getting away in good order, the 6-5...

The Week in Review On a day when there were three stakes races, two of them Grade I's, at Santa Anita, the biggest draw on the Monday card was a maiden, Eagles Flight (Curlin). He drew more fans to the paddock than were there for any of the stakes. That's what happens when you're making your first start and are a half-brother to the great Flightline (Tapit). Crank up the hype machine. Eagles Flight, sent off at 11-10, won by 2 3/4 lengths, drawing away with ease inside the final...

4th-Horseshoe Indianapolis, $32,000, Msw, 5-13, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :53.60, ft, 4 lengths. FORTUNA MIA (f, 2, Vekoma--Windy Lane, by Cairo Prince), dispatched at 5-1, quickly hooked up with Run Camila Run (West Coast) to her inside. The top pair opened up on the field and worked through an opening quarter in :22.45 before Fortuna Mia began to gain an upper hand. Run Camila Run ducked to the outside to try to re-engage but the winner was already gone and hit the wire four lengths in front. An objection was...

It was a banner weekend for Godolphin homebreds during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Cody's Wish (Curlin) added another chapter to racing's feel-good story with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the stallion-making GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) validated her upset neck victory on the first Friday in May with a heart-stopping victory in the GI Acorn S. The up-and-coming Loved (Medaglia d'Oro)--a 4-year-old half-sister to MGISW and young Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense)--made it three straight...

ELMONT, NY - Breathe easy. Following significant improvement in air quality conditions throughout New York State, the 155th GI Belmont Stakes--celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's performance of a lifetime in the final leg of the Triple Crown--will go on as scheduled Saturday evening. If there's one sire's name that you want to see when handicapping the 1 1/2-mile Classic, it's Tapit. Responsible for a co-record four Belmont winners, two second-place finishers and two third-place finishers, the 22-year-old Gainesway kingpin will be represented by potential race favorite Tapit Trice (Tapit)...

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Zedan Racing Stables' MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Taiba (Gun Runner) will skip Saturday's GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap, at Belmont Park. Taiba worked seven-furlongs in 1:27.40 Friday at Santa Anita in what was to be his final prep for the one-turn mile. He has not raced since an eighth-place effort in the G1 Saudi Cup February 25 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. "His works have been good, but not like I'd like to see them. I just don't think he's ready for...

National Treasure (Quality Road), winner of last Saturday's GI Preakness S., has made his way to Belmont Park for a potential start in the GI Belmont Stakes June 10. Bob Baffert said National Treasure got a feel for the Belmont Park main track Thursday with a light jog. "He's going well. We're going to get him up there, train him and see how he's doing," Baffert said. He added National Treasure will have one work at Belmont before a decision is made whether to test the 1 1/2-mile race. "When...

Four years ago on the eve of the GI TVG Pacific Classic, the hunt for the heavy favorite amid the lettered labyrinth of Del Mar's backstretch ended at Barn J. The stall, of course, belonged to Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), a sleek, shiny copper penny of a colt, who carried weighty expectations that this was the year his trainer, John Sadler, would finally shrug off the voodoo that had cursed his previous attempts at the coveted prize. It was also viewed as a new high altitude for a horse whose...

ELMONT, NY - With the rising sun making its way through cloudy skies, GI Belmont S. longshot Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) began to get into his gallop on the clubhouse turn on a steamy Wednesday morning at beautiful Belmont Park. Sporting plenty of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.'s flashy yellow-and-blue stable colors, the GI Preakness S. fifth-place finisher continued to catch the eye upon return while jogging along the outer rail with his neck arched. He stood briefly by the gap and soaked up plenty of attention from a handful of photographers as...

The unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) has been cleared for takeoff. Last seen making it a perfect three-for-three with a gaudy 118 Beyer Speed Figure in Santa Anita's GI Runhappy Malibu S. Dec. 26, Flightline will launch his highly anticipated 4-year-old campaign in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. on the completely stacked GI Belmont S. undercard June 11. "We're at that stage where he's all ready," trainer John Sadler said. "He's doing really well. He hasn't missed a beat. We just have to get to next week and get...

The debate over whether to increase the amount of time between Triple Crown races has been a contentious one over the last few weeks, spurred by the decision of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike's connections to pass on the GI Preakness S. and making a run at the Triple Crown. Randy Moss, the co-lead analyst for NBC Sports' coverage of the Triple Crown, has been out in front on the pro-spacing side, saying that expecting horses to race three times in five weeks is an anachronism in modern racing....