The first night of the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale displayed a growing demand for high-level prospects in the state-bred program, but a potentially less forgiving marketplace for those in the lower tiers.
The favored Richard’s Boy ($5.40) took advantage of a light 105-pound impost as he captured the $62,975 Jess Jackson Owners’ Handicap on Saturday at the Sonoma County Fair at Santa Rosa.
At times in her career, Sharla Rae has been a dirt or synthetic filly, a plan that led to three minor stakes wins from September 2014 through February this year.
Trainer Tim Rycroft had a day he will never forget, winning three of the four stakes at Northlands Park, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Grade 3 Canadian Derby with the 3-year-old filly Academic. Academic paid $9 as the second choice behind Blue Dancer.
Mach One Rules took advantage of some racing luck and his own quick turn of foot to record a narrow victory Saturday in the $58,500 W.T.B.O.A. Lads Stakes at Emerald Downs.
It’s a cute name, The Pizza Man, catchy and memorable, and hey, look at that, the horse can run a little bit, too. Won the American St. Leger on the Arlington Million card in 2014. Not bad. But this is more than a cute story about the little Illinois-bred who could. The Pizza Man is for real, and on Saturday, racing against the best competition he’s ever faced, The Pizza Man showed it, winning the 33rd running of the Arlington Million by a neck over Big Blue Kitten.
Last year, it took a course-record-setting performance to deny Grand Arch a victory in the Grade 2 Fourstardave Handicap by a neck. This year, Grand Arch was on the right side of a neck decision, holding off an oncoming and tough-luck Ironicus to win Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave at Saratoga. Ironicus, who attempted to rally from last behind a modest pace, got second by a neck over Seek Again, last year’s Fourstardave winner. King Kreesa, the runner-up in the 2013 Fourstardave, finished fourth and was followed by Mshawish, Jack Milton, Grand Tito, and Skyring. Vyjack was scratched.
Watsdachances was declared the winner Saturday at Arlington Park in a highly eventful renewal of the $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes after Secret Gesture, first under the wire, was disqualified for a foul that occurred in the frantic final yards of the Grade 1 turf race.
Joya Real showed more early speed than usual while chasing the front-running winner, Lady Shipman, in the Klassy Briefcase Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 12, and then lacked her usual strong finish and ended up third.
The Secretariat Stakes was over about five strides into the race – over for the favored Force the Pass, who lunged into the air as the starting gate sprang, and over for every other member of the field not named Highland Reel.
