Tag: Idol

Rated R Superstar, seen here winning the Grade 3 Essex Stakes, is one of three millionaires in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap field. He is 5/1 on the morning line in a deep, eight-horse field. (Image: Coady Photography)

This Deep Oaklawn Handicap Provides A Handicapper’s Puzzle

- 4 min read

The numbers tell you how competitive Saturday’s Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap is from a wagering standpoint. Because this is a race where just about everyone can win. How competitive is the anchor stakes race on Oaklawn Park’s 12-race card? Six of the eight older horses in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn […]

Idol's Sunday workout at Del Mar went well, according to trainer Richard Baltas. But the conditioner did not like how the Santa Anita Handicap champion looked afterward. (Image: Ella DeGea)

Breeders’ Cup Scratches: Idol is Idled From Classic, Flagstaff Out of Sprint

- 2 min read

Santa Anita Handicap winner Idol, standout sprinter Flagstaff and promising juvenile Rattle N Roll were all scratched from their various Breeders’ Cup races Sunday with various ailments. Trainer Richard Baltas pulled Idol out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic after the conditioner found something untoward after his Sunday morning workout at […]

Knicks Go used this Lukas Classic victory as a tune-up for the Breeders' Cup Classic, where his speed figures top his competitors on two scales. (Image: Coady Photography)

Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Classic Questions, Possibilities Abound

- 3 min read

Hot Rod Charlie, Art Collector, Medina Spirit and Stilleto Boy all come into the Breeders’ Cup Classic off career-best speed figures on all three barometers. Essential Quality and Max Player enter the fray off career-best marks on two tables. So what to make of this year’s 10-horse field in what […]

Tripoli has two victories and a second in his last three races. This includes this win in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. He carries value-laden 3/1 odds into the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Awesome Again Pits ‘Youngster’ Medina Spirit Against His Elders

- 3 min read

Medina Spirit is considered one of the “kids” in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, a change in status from what his consideration would have been, had he run in last week’s Pennsylvania Derby. From one of the fellow 3-year-olds in that race, to one of the kids in Saturday’s […]

Idol (front) caught Express Train at the wire to win March's Santa Anita Handicap. He returns for the first time in seven months for Saturday's Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Idol Worship: Big ‘Cap Winner Returns for Awesome Again Stakes

- 3 min read

The last time we saw Idol, he was literally catching a Train – Express Train – who Idol ran down and passed just before crossing the wire of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. That half-length victory in one of the California track’s flagship events came on March 6, nearly […]

Idol and Joel Rosario swiped the Santa Anita Handicap in deep stretch from Express Train. The 4-year-old standout will miss the second leg of the Wild West Bonus series with an undisclosed issue. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Big ‘Cap Winner Idol Sidelined, Won’t Chase Wild West Bonus

- 2 min read

The $1 million Wild West Bonus will go unclaimed with the announcement that Santa Anita Handicap winner Idol will miss the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup with an undisclosed issue. Trainer Richard Baltus told Santa Anita Park’s Ed Golden that the issue doesn’t appear to be career-ending and that the […]

Maxfield makes his first trip west of the Mississippi for Saturday's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. He's the 8/5 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/4-mile "Big 'Cap." (Image: Ernie Belmonte)

Maxfield Puts Maximum Attention on Santa Anita Handicap

- 4 min read

The Santa Anita Handicap was the race that put Seabiscuit into the Depression-era public conscience. It was the first race offering a $100,000 purse, earning it the nickname “The Hundred Grander,” back when that was real money. Now, Maxfield is putting the Santa Anita Handicap back on the racing map. […]

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