Assembly Hall, moving into contention on the far turn, rallied strongly through the stretch to earn a 2 1/4-length victory in the $75,000 Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs on Monday.
Trained by Bryan Porter, who also is the co-owner of the Kentucky-bred in partnership with Dennis Goettsch, Assembly Hall was making his fifth career start and stakes debut in the 1 1/8-mile Manitoba Derby, an open race for 3-year-olds.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Benefitting from a patient ride by Edgar Prado, Qushchi rallied strongly in the stretch to win Monday’s $100,000 Waya Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths at Saratoga.
Anjaz, who was boxed in along the inside in the stretch, managed to find room and get up for second by one length over Mystical Star. Angel Terrace was fourth, followed by Beijoca, Kissable, and Team.
The win was the first for Qushchi since Sept. 17, 2011. She had lost 16 straight starts, including all four since coming to the United States and trainer Graham Motion.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Holiday Soiree returned quick dividends to her new connections when she rallied from off the pace to an impressive 3 3/4-length victory over Delightful Quality in Monday’s $100,000 Shine Again Stakes at Saratoga.
Wise Dan, the reigning Horse of the Year, was assigned 129 pounds for Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, the race he won last year to start his current seven-race winning streak.
Four years ago, trainer Al Stall Jr. sent out Blame to win the Curlin Stakes with a career-best performance, after which he skipped the temptation to run his rising star in the Travers.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Strut the Course ($6.70) notched her first stakes win with ease Monday at Woodbine in the $125,000 Eternal Search.
Strut the Course won from off the pace by 6 1/2 lengths over Seeking Toussaud. Dancing Bay wound up third, and the favored front-runner, Laughing Falcon, faded to fourth.
Todd Kabel rode the Barb Minshall-trained Strut the Course, who completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.67.
“I expected a big race from her today, and she showed up,” Minshall said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Paso Doble ($4.90) danced his way into the winner’s circle as the 124-pound highweight in the $125,400 Shepperton Stakes on holiday Monday at Woodbine.
The pace was slow in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint, and second choice Phil’s Dream assumed command into the stretch after tracking the early leader, Executive Five. Paso Doble rallied wide from midpack to hit the front at the sixteenth pole en route to a 1 1/2-length score in 1:16.39.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Evidently, Steve Asmussen didn’t empty out his chamber when he won 35 races at the Churchill Downs spring meet, including 11 with his 2-year-old crop.
DEL MAR, Calif. – It is tough enough at Del Mar lately to pick one winner at a time. String together six winners? Good luck with that.
The fourth carryover in six days is up for grabs Wednesday when a $265,129 carryover is likely to attract another $1.5 million. The man in the spotlight is trainer Doug O’Neill, with two promising juvenile fillies among his entrants in four of the pick-six races.
Charm the Maker has had a steady diet of stakes racing since her win against maidens here in the summer of 2011, so the class relief she gets in Wednesday’s sixth race could prove beneficial.
Charm the Maker, freshened since February, returns in a second-level allowance and turns back to a six-furlong sprint on Polytrack, the distance and surface over which she won her debut two summers ago.
