Private Zone overpowered his four rivals in the $400,000 Belmont Sprint Championship on Saturday, going right to the front and winning by 3 1/4 lengths under his regular rider Martin Pedroza.
In a thrilling edition of the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park on Saturday, Effinex defeated 2-5 favorite Tonalist by a head following a ferocious stretch duel that also included the front-running Coach Inge.
Kharafa, with nowhere to run in midstretch, came between horses under Paco Lopez to score by a head in the Elkhorn Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
Though he had won the Grade 3 Penn Mile by only a head, it was the way Force the Pass did it that convinced owner Richard Santulli that his 3-year-old could get 1 1/4 miles. Santulli’s confidence was rewarded as Force the Pass, making a move to the lead under Joel Rosario at the three-eighths pole, kept on going and galloped to a 3 3/4-length victory over European shipper Canndal in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Belmont Derby Invitational at Belmont Park. It was 2 1/2 lengths farther back to Startup Nation, who nosed out Closing Bell for third.
Reigning Canadian champion male sprinter Calgary Cat made amends for a rare poor showing May 17 in the Grade 3 Vigil Stakes by capturing Saturday’s $150,000 Achievement Stakes at Woodbine.
It isn’t often when the winners and losers of a Grade 2, $500,000 stakes are equally happy. But that seemed to be the case following Saturday’s Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park, where Speightster remained undefeated by beating Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red by 2 1/2 lengths.
Class relief and a road trip to suburban Philadelphia enabled multiple graded stakes winner Coffee Clique to snap a three-race losing streak in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap at Parx Racing. Her $120,000 share of the purse enabled Coffee Clique to surpass the $1 million milestone in earnings with $1,041,488.
Irish Jasper scored her third consecutive stakes win in the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday and now will be pointed to the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga by trainer Derek Ryan.
Alliseeisgold, after a pair of dominating performances in six-furlong sprints, easily handled the transition to 1 1/8 miles to capture Saturday’s 48th running of the $75,000 Cleveland Gold Cup for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds at ThistleDown.
The heavily favored Hold for More ($2.60) dominated his three 3-year-old Minnesota-bred rivals in Saturday's $60,000 Victor S. Myers Stakes.
