Trainer Efren Loza Jr. had the promising 2-year-old colt Ishaq sitting on ready for his career debut Nov. 28 at Tampa Bay Downs, and the son of Harlan’s Holiday won the way a 9-10 favorite should, leading most of the way under Pedro Cotto Jr. to score by 10 1/4 lengths under only brief, mild urging.
Like everyone else, I was gutted when I learned of the passing last Thursday of Shared Belief. And I think one of the reasons why his loss stung so much is you have to go back many, many years to find a horse who was even remotely as brilliant, accomplished, and brutally unlucky, all at the same time.
Spanish Pipedream held off a sustained bid from Rachel’s Ready to register a neck victory Saturday night in the 30th running of the $50,000 Holiday Inaugural Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
Roo’s Valentine proved too tough to catch on the lead of Saturday’s $100,500 Soviet Problem Stakes at Los Alamitos.
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Heidi’s In Charge won her third consecutive race, and second stakes, in Saturday’s $48,000 Arizona Breeders’ Futurity for 2-year-old statebred fillies at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
Mana Strike ($22.20), an easy winner in his debut here before running sixth behind the undefeated Smokey Image in his stakes debut, rallied from last to score an impressive 2 1/4-length victory Saturday in the $75,105 Gold Rush Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.
Jockey Javier Castellano picked right up where he left off last winter at Gulfstream Park, posting his fourth Claiming Crown victory on a wet and soggy afternoon by guiding favored Royal Posse past stablemate Mr. Palmer in the $200,000 Jewel.
Key to Power put in a sustained run for a half-length win over Roman Approval in the off-the-turf Claiming Crown Emerald on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. It was another neck back in third to the late-running Ghost Hunter.
Room for Me capped her solid 5-year-old season with a dominant 3 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct.
Doddsprivatelabel rallied farthest outside to prevail in a four-horse photo Saturday in an exciting renewal of the $110,000 Claiming Crown Express at Gulfstream Park in south Florida.
