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Ten late nominees added to Triple Crown

Impressive filly Eight Belles was a late nominee to the Triple Crown, along with stablemate Proud Spell (Coady Photography)
When the deadline for late nominations to the 2008 Triple Crown passed Saturday night, 10 new sophomores -- eight males and two females -- had been made eligible at a cost of $6,000 each. The 10 late nominees ran the overall total for this year's Triple Crown races to 459, one below the record of 460 set in 2007.

The newly added nominees are:

Godolphin Racing's BARRIER REEF (Mizzen Mast), trained by Saeed bin Suroor, who was last seen capturing the February 2 Whirlaway S. at Aqueduct;

John T.L. Jones' BIG GLEN (Cactus Ridge), a Frank Brothers trainee who most recently landed the March 22 Rushaway S. at Turfway Park;

Fox Hill Farm's filly EIGHT BELLES (Unbridled's Song), who won the March 16 Honeybee S. (G3) at Oaklawn Park for horseman Larry Jones;

Bernard and Bea Oxenberg's HEY BYRN (Put It Back), conditioned by Eddie Plesa Jr. and fourth in Saturday's Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park;

Russata Stable's JAZZ IN THE PARK (Ecton Park), who is coming off a sharp Fair Grounds allowance score on March 14 for horseman Bobby Barnett;

Super Horse Inc.'s KINSALE KING (Yankee Victor), a Jesse Mendoza pupil who broke his maiden at Santa Anita on March 16;

B. Wayne Hughes' MY PAL CHARLIE (Indian Charlie), trained by Albert Stall Jr. and a solid runner-up in the March 8 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds;

Brereton Jones' filly PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen), a stablemate of Eight Belles from the Larry Jones barn, who is exiting a victory in the March 8 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2);

Charlotte Wrather's ROSSO CORSA (Ferrari [Ger]), who landed a March 7 maiden at Santa Anita for conditioner Darrell Vienna;

and Peachtree Stable's SPURRIER (Dixieland Band), a Todd Pletcher pupil who is coming off an allowance/optional claiming victory at Aqueduct on March 5.

The early period for nominations closed on January 19, when the fee was $600 per horse.

The total number of nominations brings total nomination fees to $329,400, which means each of the three racetracks will receive $109,800 in purse money for their respective Triple Crown races.

The run for Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown begins with the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 3. The 133rd Preakness S. (G1) follows on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, and the final race -- the Belmont S. (G1) -- will be run for the 140th time on June 7 at New York's Belmont Park.


 


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