Marcus Hersh

Trainer Rick Dutrow wasn’t happy about it, but he had no choice when shipping Igniter from Belmont to Ellis with the only option a long, hot van ride last weekend. Dutrow gave his charge a relatively easy week after the demanding trip, and on Sunday, Igniter went out and dominated the $400,000 Ellis Park Derby.

Conceit’s connections have generally treated her like a filly for turf and synthetics. Dirt looks like her forte. Winless in two turf starts, defeated in her one synthetic race, Conceit made it 3 for 3 on dirt while making her stakes debut in the $200,000 Audubon Oaks on Sunday at Ellis Park.

The 8-year-old gelding Here Mi Song was born in Kentucky and his 38 races have come at the Commonwealth's four tracks. The worldly Nakatomi comes into his house for the featured eighth race Friday.

Ellis Park will move its racing program scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14, to Monday, Aug. 17, and push up the start times for cards this Saturday and Sunday to mid-morning because of extremely hot weather.

The 3-year-old filly Precise in her last two starts has not been able to handle the 4-year-old filly Blue Bolt, but Blue Bolt won't line up against her Sunday at Deauville in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, among Europe's premier one-mile races open to older horses.

Were the Yorkshire Oaks run at Ascot, the outcome would be all but a foregone conclusion, but the Ascot-loving mare Kalpana makes her first start at York Racecourse on Thursday as the heavy favorite to win the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.

The Brad Cox barn has run more than three horses on a single Ellis Park card just once this meet. But the trainer has entrants in five Friday races, including the co-featured sixth and eighth.

Last month, Kalpana won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes by a clear margin over Calandagan, rated best horse in the world last year. Thursday at York, she won the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks by a whisker over 29-1 shot Sparan Nua.

In four American starts, the 3-year-old colt Bacio has not so much as won a stakes race, but two races in England this year have turned him into a star sprinter. Bacio showed his vast talent acing a handicap at the Royal Ascot meeting in June, and on Friday at York Racecourse he took no prisoners in the Nunthorpe Stakes, one of the most important European sprints.

Totally Justified won just the third race of her career by running down 1-2 favorite Lush Lips, who was making her first start since February, in the $175,000 Ellis Park Turf on Sunday.