Philadelphia: Ebony Breeze, barely

Ebony Breeze came through as the even-money favorite in the $100,000 My Juliet Stakes at Philadelphia Park, but she had to work hard to do it.

Ebony Breeze ($4), under Heberto Castillo Jr., outdueled Storm Minstrel down the stretch of the six-furlong race to win by a neck. Storm Minstrel had 7 1/4 lengths on Umpateedle, the third-place finisher in the field of five fillies and mares.

A speed duel between Umpateedle and Hostility set the table for the top two. Umpateedle and Hostility battled through fractions of 22.04 seconds and 45.20, with Umpateedle disposing of Hostility coming into the stretch. But by then Ebony Breeze and Storm Minstrel were rolling, and they turned the final furlong into a match race.

Ebony Breeze, a 5-year-old Belong to Me mare, covered the six furlongs in 1:10.43. A Kinsman Stable homebred trained by Bill Mott, Ebony Breeze has won 9 of 27 starts and earned more than $750,000.

* Last Toots came into the $53,250 Foxy J. G. Stakes as a filly headed for bigger and better things. She left the seven-furlong race for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old fillies as a beaten 1-2 favorite.

Last Toots, third in the Go for Wand at Delaware and fourth in the Grade 2 Comely at Aqueduct in her last two starts, was dueled into defeat by the top two finishers, Redaspen and S W Aly'svalentine, and finished fourth. Redaspen ($12.40) won the Foxy J. G. by 1 1/2 lengths under Victor Molina, with S W Aly'svalentine 4 3/4 lengths ahead of J.D. Safari, at 24-1 the longest shot in the five-horse field.

Redaspen, owned by Equivine Farm and trained by Tim Woolley, covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.65.