Maiden Watch: Aug. 21-Aug.27

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky., is deeply saddened to announce Aug. 28 that Sarava, the upset winner of the 2002 Belmont Stakes (G1), has died due to complications from a leg fracture.

Emphasizing Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s commitment to accredited aftercare, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be honored with a named race during the Pacific Classic Day.

Mauro Cedillo, recovered from a terrifying spill May 1 at Thistledown, will return to riding at the track with four mounts Sept. 4.

Maiden Watch: Aug. 21-Aug.27

He won the 6 1/2-furlong contest with Jennifer Whitaker in the irons in 1:18.81. The win earned the Washington-bred Rimrock Lake $27,500. He is undefeated in two career starts.

A run of six straight wins, four in group 1s, came to an end at York last week when the 3-year-old finished third in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) behind Frankie Dettori and the front-running Mostahdaf. 

VinLaur Racing Stables, West Paces Racing, and Rainbow’s End Racing Stable’s promising Cynane will attempt to make a splash in her stateside return in the Aug. 30 P.G. Johnson Stakes for 2-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga Race Course.

The Strawberry Hill Stud dispersal of bloodstock, five decades in the making, will provide generational opportunities for breeders wanting to create their own dynasty on the back of John Singleton’s Thoroughbred legacy.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of top contenders in graded stakes winner Carl Spackler and the improving Activist Investing in the Saranac Stakes (G3T) Sept. 1, a 1 1/16-mile turf test at Saratoga Race Course.