Far Right has now won both of his Oaklawn Park matchups with Mr. Z – Sunday’s Southwest and last month’s Smarty Jones. But the rivalry, which has highlighted the local 3-year-old series, is unlikely to be renewed in next month’s Grade 2, $750,000 Rebel Stakes here.
Sunday’s 10th race at Gulfstream Park featured the return of Top Billing, who was making his first start since finishing third in the 2014 Fountain of Youth.
Trainer Bill Mott said that Mean Season “looked good and jogged sound” Monday at Payson Park, less than 48 hours after being vanned off following his last-place finish in Saturday’s Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint.
All-sources handle on Saturday’s Fountain of Youth program at Gulfstream Park was $20,746,939, up slightly from 2014. There was significant growth in ontrack handle, which was $1.867 million, up 100 percent from the previous year.
Jockey Junior Alvarado rode North Slope to victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Evening Attire Stakes, part of a four-win afternoon and seven-win weekend for him at Aqueduct.
Far From Over and El Kabeir, the top two finishers in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Feb. 7, both returned to the work tab Sunday as they train toward a possible rematch in the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 7.
North Slope earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Evening Attire Stakes and will remain on the dirt for the foreseeable future, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said.
His triumphant 2015 debut behind him, Main Sequence will now be pointed for his first major goal of the season, the Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 28 at Meydan.
Marcus Hersh ranks the top 3-year-old males and fillies pointing to races at Fair Grounds.
David Wells, the former trainer of the Eclipse Award-winning gelding Rapid Redux, was sentenced on Monday by a Pennsylvania court to six months in incarceration as part of a deal in which he pleaded guilty to one charge of rigging a publicly exhibited contest, according to Pennsylvania news outlets.
