Sunday stakes recaps (11/07/04)

* Mercer's Launch ($2.80) sprinted clear early and widened through the stretch to score an easy 8 1/4-length victory over entrymate Scioto Bootski in the $40,000 Scarlet and Gray Handicap at Beulah Park.

* Snack ($11), under a well-timed ride by Rodney Prescott, rallied from more than 10 lengths back to capture the $40,000 Indiana Futurity at Hoosier Park by a half-length. The race is for 2-year-old statebreds.

* There was a decidedly Germanic atmosphere at the Capannelle in Rome as Soldier Hollow took the Group 1 Premio Roma just one hour after Eagle Rise had made off with the Group 2 Premio Ribot. The horses are trained by Peter Schiergen and Andreas Schutz, respectively, both of whom are based in Cologne.