Triple Crown's over, but 3-year-old horse racing competition continues

Further Ado, shown winning the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, returns to action in Saturday's Grade I Haskell at Monmouth Park. Photo courtesy of KeenelandJuly 17 (UPI) -- The Triple Crown is over, but the 3-year-old competition is not, as several veterans of that long campaign return for Saturday's Grade I Haskell at Monmouth Park.

>Meanwhile, the 2025 Preakness winner is back in action, as Del Mar opens its summer meeting "where the turf meets the surf."

>Globally, Bastille Day wasn't kind to French runners at Longchamp. Saturday is Irish Oaks Day at the Curragh.

>Classic

Katie's Grace (red cap) trains for Sunday's Woodbine Oaks, first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara. Photo by Michael Burns, courtesy of WoodbineQuick, now! Who was the post-time favorite in this year's Kentucky Derby? Good on ya if you said Further Ado.

>The Gun Runner colt, winner of the Grade I Blue Grass by 11 lengths, started in the Run for the Roses as a lukewarm favorite at odds of just above 5-1 and finished 11th.

>He rebounded from that to win the Grade III Matt Winn for fun and now he's back as favorite in Saturday's $1 million Grade I Haskell for 3-year-olds at Monmouth Park, a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

>The Haskell looks like a tough go, however. All but one of the seven entries competed in at least one Triple Crown prep.

>Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor finished 1-2, respectively, in the Preakness in their last start.

>The Puma bypassed the Kentucky Derby after finishing second by a nose in the Florida Derby.

>Baby Vino, one of two locally housed runners, took five tries to get his first win during the Oaklawn Park meeting, but then won the Pegasus Stakes by 10 3/4 lengths.

>Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo still has a firm grip on leadership in the division. But the Haskell winner -- especially if it's Further Ado or Napoleon Solo, already Grade 1 winners -- would jump into the mix should he falter.

>Journalism, winner of the 2025 Preakness and Haskell, hasn't won since that Monmouth Park score a year ago, but seeks a path back to the winner's circle in Saturday's $300,000 Grade II San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. He's been second, fourth, third and third in tough heats in the intervening 12 months.

>Ageless wonder Skippylongstocking faces just five rivals in Saturday's $350,000 Grade III Monmouth Cup. And a dozen Canadian-breds are in for Sunday's $150,000 (Canadian) Plate Trial on the Woodbine all-weather. The 167th King's Plate is set for Aug. 15.

>Distaff

>Splendora, last year's Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint champ, and Alpine Princess top a field of seven entered for Saturday's $500,000 Grade II Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.

>Splendora has won six of her last seven races and successfully stretched to two turns last start, winning the Grade II Shawnee at Churchill Downs.

>Sunday's $500,000 (Canadian) Woodbine Oaks on the Woodbine all-weather is restricted to Canadian-bred fillies. Seven are entered for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara.

>Sprint

>Book'em Danno, the reigning Eclipse Award male sprint champ, runs out of his own Monmouth Park barn as the odds-on favorite in Friday's $100,000 Mr. Prospector.

>The 5-year-old Bucchero gelding won four of five starts last year, including the Grade I Forego. This season, he finished second by a neck to Point Dume in the Grade II Carter, then won the Grade III True North on June 6.

>Banishing, winner of the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, is favorite in Saturday's $175,000 Jeff Hall Memorial at Ellis Park.

>Filly & mare sprint

>If Kilwin is back to the form that saw her win the Grade I Test at Saratoga last summer, she'd be a shoo-in for Saturday's $100,000 Regret at Monmouth Park. However, trainer Rusty Arnold also has entered the Twirling Candy filly in Sunday's $175,000 Twin Bridges at Ellis Park and reportedly is staying in the Commonwealth for that one.

>Turf / turf mile

>The United Nations Stakes started life as a handicap race at Atlantic City Racecourse in 1953 and through the early part of the second half of the 20th century was a pioneering event in international racing. Monmouth Park continues the tradition, at least in name, in Saturday's $500,000 Grade II renewal without a whiff of foreign interest.

>Friday's traditional Del Mar meet opener, the $150,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds, has a full and competitive field of 12 to go 1 mile. Sunday's $100,000 Wickerr at Del Mar, also at 1 mile, attracted a familiar field that's been knocking heads on the circuit for some time now.

>Filly & mare turf / turf mile

>It's tough to miss Portfolio Duration in Saturday's $500,000 Grade I Dunkin' Diana Stakes at Saratoga. The 4-year-old, British-bred daughter of Night of Thunder has three wins and two oh-so-close seconds from five starts and was last seen winning the Grade 1 New York Stakes over the course at the Belmont meeting.

>Also, Saturday's $300,000 Grade III Winstar Matchmaker at Monmouth Park, Saturday's $200,000 Grade II San Clemente at Del Mar, Sunday's $175,000 (Canadian) Grade II Nassau at Woodbine and Friday's $150,000 De La Rose at Saratoga.

>Turf sprint

>Look no farther than Cy Fair in Saturday's $225,000 Grade III Coronation Cup for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga. Last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner has won four of six starts and never finished out of the money. The Not This Time filly exits a win in the Grade III Mamzelle at Churchill Downs.

>In case the Coronation Cup is washed off the turf, trainer George Weaver has entered Cy Fair in Sunday's $225,000 Grade III Quick Call Stakes for 3-year-olds as a backup. The Quick Call is 5 1/2 furlongs. She is the morning-line favorite for that, too, although she'd be facing colts and geldings.

>Also, Sunday's $175,000 (Canadian) Grade II Connaught Cup at Woodbine and Saturday's $100,000 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park.

>Around the world, around the clock

>France

>Bastille Day produced some fireworks on the Longchamp turf, but not for the celebratory French forces.

>The feature, the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris, went to Epsom Derby runner-up Maltese Cross, who somehow found room between rivals in the final strides and nipped another British raider, Ancient Egypt, by a head.

>Alam then held on to third, just a neck in front of the favorite, Varandir. Coolmore's hope, King Edward VII winner Causeway, led but faded to finish last of seven.

>Ireland, in the persons of Joseph Patrick O'Brian and Dylan Browne McMonagle, sent out Sons and Lovers to victory in the Group 2 Prix 2 Maurice de Nieuil, denying Francis Graffard, Mickael Barzalona and Parachutiste by a head at the end of 1 3/4 miles.

>It was better news for the locals and for the forces of the Aga Khan Studs, as Behrayana overcame some serious late obstruction to win the Group 2 Prix de Malleret for 3-year-old fillies by a neck over the perpetrator, Pink Panthera.

>Ireland

>Speaking of the team of Joseph Patrick O'Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle (and we'd better get used to speaking of them frequently), they return from French glory to handle the favorite for Saturday's Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh -- Thundering On.

>The Frankel filly won the Betfred Oaks at Epsom by daylight while coming from last, but then finished fourth in the Grade I Pretty Polly, beaten by two 5-year-olds and a 4-year-old.

>Joseph Patrick O'Brien also has Johanna Walsh and Rebel Moon as viable long shots. Aidan O'Brien, who has won the race a record eight times, holds five entries, topped by Amelia Earhart.

>That Camelot filly was last seen a comprehensively beaten sixth as the favorite on the Epsom Downs and needs a quick turnaround to restore the luster.