ARCADIA, Calif. – Mucho Macho Man might not be based in California, but he sure likes it here.
Second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, Mucho Macho Man served notice that he will be formidable in that race again this year with an emphatic, 4 1/4-length victory Saturday in the Grade 1, $250,000 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita.
The Awesome Again offers a fees-paid berth to the $5 million BC Classic here Nov. 2 through the Win and You’re In program.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Beholder won the fourth Grade 1 race of her career in Saturday’s $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita, giving trainer Richard Mandella an opportunity to issue a subtle challenge to others pointing fillies and mares to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff here on Nov. 2.
“She’s a filly that loves a fight,” he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Paul Reddam works in the financial world, where he’s familiar with weighing risks and rewards. He decided the risk of running a maiden in the $250,000 FrontRunner Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita was worth it, and he was rewarded with a Grade 1 win.
ARCADIA, Calif. – There seems to be only a head difference between the top California turf mares Tiz Flirtatious and Marketing Mix.
Back in May, Marketing Mix beat Tiz Flirtatious by that margin in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park. And there was a head between the 5-year-old mares in Saturday’s $250,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita, with Tiz Flirtatious winning after a thrilling stretch run.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A change of scenery and the longest race of her brief career helped Secret Compass score an upset win in Saturday’s $250,500 Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.
Ridden for the first time by Rosie Napravnik, Secret Compass ($23.40) closed from fourth in a field of seven to catch 2-1 She’s a Tiger in the final strides and win by a head. She’s a Tiger, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 31, finished three-quarters of a length in front of Fascinating, the 6-5 favorite who remains a maiden after four starts.
ELMONT, N. Y. – Little Mike won three Grade 1 races last year, culminating with the Breeders’ Cup Turf. His worst showing in 2012, by far, came in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, in which he finished a distant fifth on a deep course he did not like.
ELMONT, N.Y. - If Bill Mott had his druthers, he would have run Ron the Greek in Saturday’s $400,000 Kelso Invitational going a mile at Belmont Park rather than the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles.
Mott had two-time defending Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out in the race, and with Ron the Greek having lost his last five starts, Mott thought it might be time to try something different with the 6-year-old son of Full Mandate.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Parranda, who usually does her best running from mid-pack or beyond, found herself closer than usual to a snail-like pace and made the most of the golden opportunity, drawing off to a 2 1/4-length victory over Millennia in Saturday’s $100,000 Our Dear Peggy Stakes on the turf at Gulfstream Park. Sola Gratia, the even-money favorite, finished fourth after steadying in traffic on the final turn.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The question regarding Laughing entering Saturday’s Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park was her ability to get the 1 1/4 miles.
Able to get away with a ridiculous soft early pace - she was loose on the lead through six furlongs in 1:16.02 under Jose Lezcano - Laughing had no trouble with the distance, holding off her stablemate Tannery by one-half length to win the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational. Both horses are owned by Richard Santulli and trained by Alan Goldberg.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Private Zone, a Canadian-bred who began his career in Panama and set the early pace in the Dubai Golden Shaheen earlier this year, continued his jet-setting ways, winning Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Vosburgh Invitational in stakes-record time off the plane from California.
It didn’t come easily. The Doug O’Neill-trained speedster had to put away Forego winner Strapping Groom down the backstretch and needed to run an opening half-mile in 44.86 seconds to open a clear lead around the turn beneath Martin Pedroza.
