Sweetnorthernsaint scores easily

Displaying his superior class, Sweetnorthernsaint bounded to the front under Mario Pino and led every step to win the $63,000 Harrison E. Johnson for 3-year-olds and up by four lengths under a hand ride.

Capac came up the inside and outdueled Future Fantasy by three-quarters of a length for second in a field reduced from seven to five by the scratches of My Dream and Trapped Again.

Sweetnorthernsaint, who finished seventh as the favorite in last year's Kentucky Derby, cut soft fractions in the sealed muddy going of 25.44 seconds for the quarter-mile, 49.64 for the half, and 1:13.61 for six furlongs. His time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:51.37, and he paid $2.20 to win.

Trained by Michael Trombetta for owners Joe Balsamo and Ted Theos, Sweetnorthernsaint improved his record to 6 wins in 13 starts and his earnings to $728,300.

Of the $106,204 bet in the show pool, $96,865 was on Sweetnorthernsaint.