Olympic relishes more ground

Stretching out from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles proved to be the solution to Olympic's eight-month slump.

Capitalizing when the $50,000 Mataji Stakes was moved from turf to the main track at Calder, the 6-year-old Olympic ($5.40) took control after the first six furlongs and cruised to a 4 1/2-length victory.

Ancient Culture outfought 4-5 favorite Imawildandcrazyguy by a head for second in a field reduced to five by five scratches when the race was taken off the turf.

Olympic, ridden by Javier Santiago for trainer Marty Wolfson, completed 10 furlongs on a track rated good in 2:07.62. He had lost four straight, including a pair of Grade 3 stakes, since taking a third-level optional $40,000 claimer going a mile last November.