The sharp shipper Cactus Kris ($12.20) closed stoutly from last under Huber Villa-Gomez to collar Endless Light late and take the Grade 3, $154,800 Ontario Fashion Stakes on the Canadian International undercard at Woodbine.
The belief that the West Coast-based 2-year-olds are superior to those on the East Coast received further validation Sunday at Belmont Park when Pretty N Cool recorded a one-length victory over Constellation in the Grade 2, $200,000 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park.
Mikki Queen, winner of the Japanese Oaks in May, won her second major stakes for 3-year-old fillies in Japan in Sunday’s $1,548,614 Shuka Sho at Kyoto Racecourse, a win that solidified her status as the leader of the division.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will be on the last plane out from California for the Breeders’ Cup after working twice more at Santa Anita.
Masochistic, fourth in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 3, worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds on Sunday, his second-to-last workout before the BC Sprint on Oct. 31.
Moonist, the champion 3-year-old Quarter Horse of 2014, confirmed his status as the favorite for the $600,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 12 with his third consecutive stakes win Saturday in the $125,000 Los Alamitos Championship for older Quarter Horses.
Bye Bye Bernie prevailed at 22-1 in a blanket finish Sunday in the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes on the Woodbine Mile undercard.
Big John B will start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 30 with a 10-week gap since his win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 22. That could be the longest break between starts for any of the runners in the BC Turf field, an issue that does not concern trainer Phil D’Amato.
Songbird will be one of the shortest prices of the day on Oct. 31 when she starts in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland. Judging from her recent workouts, and the thoughts of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Songbird should prove tough to beat in the championship race for 2-year-old fillies
As it pertained to the Breeders’ Cup, it was all about the turf Sunday at Belmont Park with 11 horses with designs on running in a Breeders’ Cup grass race in less than two weeks putting in workouts on a cold, clear morning on Long Island.
