Calder: Saez, Sano finish meet far ahead

MIAMI – The 94 day Calder meeting ended Friday and with it the jockey and trainer races that were, for all intents and purposes, over months earlier. The 45-day Tropical at Calder session began Saturday.

Luis Saez nearly lapped the field with 142 winners to defend the jockey title he won for the first time in 2010, riding nearly twice as many winners as runner-up Jose Alvarez, who had 77. Juan Leyva, a rising star during the second half of the meet, finished third with 73.

Antonio Sano, who won numerous training championships in South America, captured his first title in North America and did so in impressive fashion. Sano pulled away from the pack midway through the meet and cruised home with 46 victories, well in front of defending Tropical at Calder training champ Bisnath Parboo, who rallied late to lock up second with 26. Bill White broke a four-way tie for third by winning a race Friday to finish with 24 victories.

Gold’s duo work like twins

Trainer Stanley Gold sent out two of his top 2-year-olds, Fort Loudon and Awesome Belle, to work six furlongs on Friday. As was the case when the pair breezed a mile last week from the six-furlong pole instead of the wire, Gold orchestrated a little bit of an unorthodox move again Friday with Fort Loudon and Awesome Belle breaking off at the 5 1/2-furlong marker and continuing on out to the 7 1/2-furlong pole a sixteenth of a mile beyond the finish line.

Gold will attempt to pull off a Florida Stallion Series sweep for an unprecedented third straight year when Fort Loudon runs as the favorite in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality on Oct. 15. Fort Loudon was timed in 1:13.40, completing his final quarter in 25.61 seconds before galloping out seven-eighths in 1:27.40. Awesome Belle, who will join stablemate Redbud Road in the My Dear Girl finale of the FSS on Oct. 15, covered the same distance in a nearly identical 1:13.47, hanging up fractions of 24.19 and 48.51 while galloping out seven-eighths in 1:28.41. Awesome Belle finished third behind Queen Drama and Redbud Road in the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl on Aug. 27.

Queen Drama was also on Friday’s tab, tuning up for her rematch with Redbud Road and Awesome Belle in the 1 1/16-mile My Dear Girl. Queen Drama breezed almost immediately after the renovation break, going an easy five-eighths in 1:03.43 before galloping out a strong six furlongs in 1:16.54. He was followed shortly thereafter by Mambo Meister, who cruised a half-mile in 48.49 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.16. Mambo Meister is also scheduled to run on the Oct. 15 Festival of the Sun program in the Grade 3 Spend a Buck Handicap.

◗ Andersonstate, stakes-placed earlier this summer when third behind Decisive Moment in the El Kaiser, tops a field of six 3-year-olds entered to go a mile and 70 yards in Sunday’s second-level optional $25,000 claiming feature. The field also includes Too Experience, runner-up in the American Dreamer Stakes on July 2; Madness n’ Mayhem, Ribo Bobo, Sir Charlie, and Truly Distinctive.

◗ There will be a live racing program here Monday and every Monday throughout the remainder of the Tropical session, which runs through Dec. 2. Tuesdays and Wednesdays will continue to be dark. Monday cards will feature eight races with nine races on Thursday, 12 events scheduled on Friday, 13 on Saturday, and 11 on Sunday. Post time will remain 12:30 p.m. Eastern.