Turf Paradise track report

Muir Beach returned to dirt and the top of the local fillies and mares division at Turf Paradise when she won last Saturday's $40,000 Cactus Flower Handicap - but it sure wasn't easy.

The 5-year-old Muir Beach needed to call on all her courage to reel in a stubborn Katy Smiles in the final yards of the six-furlong race.

"She was all guts today," said Joel Campbell, who rode Muir Beach. "This is her best distance and her best surface."

Trained by Dan McFarlane for Phoenix-based owner Dennis Weir, Muir Beach covered the distance in 1:08.72.

McFarlane said she will make one more start before the meet ends on May 21, probably in the $40,000 Desert Sky Handicap, at one mile on turf, on May 6.

Muir Beach has now won 13 of 33 starts for earnings of $430,224.