SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Ian Wilkes, the trainer of beaten Whitney Invitational favorite Fort Larned, believes that if you ran the same horses back a month from now, there would be a different winner.
His theory may very well be put to the test in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward on Aug. 31.
ALTOONA, Iowa – Cainam turned backed the clock when using a prolonged closing bid from the back of the pack to reel in the determined pacesetter Ice Hockey and take the $95,200 Ralph Hayes on Iowa Classic night Saturday.
Under jockey Terry Thompson, the 6-year-old Jon Arnett-trained Cainam ($15.80), who had won the 2011 Ralph Hayes, bided his time before circling six of his seven rivals around the far turn and taking aim at Ice Hockey as he reached the eighth pole. Ice Hockey proved a stubborn foe, as Cainam only managed to wear him down by a half-length in the last 40 yards.
Hidden Canyon, gunned from the gate by J.D. Acosta, got the jump on fellow speedster In the Fairway and rode the rail on a sealed, sloppy track to a 1 1/2-length victory in Saturday night’s $51,000 Robert G. Leavitt Memorial Stakes for 3-year-old West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.
With In the Fairway chasing from the two path, Hidden Canyon clicked off fractions of 23.19 seconds, 46.83, and 1:11.08 en route to completing the seven furlongs in 1:24.60.
DEL MAR, Calif. - After a two-day carryover created massive interest, the pick six at Del Mar was hit by five ticketholders for $407,550 on Saturday.
The winners of Saturday’s pick six races were You Know I Know ($23), English Crossing ($18.20), Sunday Rules ($12.40), Lady of Fifty ($23.20), Chibita ($19), and Ethnic Dance ($5.80).
Ethnic Dance was the only winning favorite in the sequence.
[DEL MAR 2013: Complete meet coverage, schedule, race replays]
DEL MAR, Calif. – A jockey who prefers to ride the rail aboard closers chose the path of least resistance aboard Lady of Fifty in Saturday’s $301,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar.
Corey Nakatani urged Lady of Fifty into contention with a six-wide rally on the turn en route to an upset win in the Grade 1 Hirsch for fillies and mares. Nakatani said the wide trip suited Lady of Fifty, who had ample momentum in the final three furlongs.
“I usually try to save ground, but she was traveling great for me,” Nakatani said.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Outside Nashville, making his first start on turf and around two turns, was content to sit back and accelerated in the stretch to win the $57,600 Roger Dupret Derby at the Sonoma County Fair.
Outside Nashville, a 3-year-old Broken Vow colt, won the Golden Nugget as a 2-year-old and was coming off a second-place finish in the Livermore Valley Wines, He went off the co-favorite in the 1 1/16-mile turf race with Miceli, who had four turf wins to his credit but had never placed in a stakes.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Heading into the second running $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park, trainer Michael Stidham said he felt he had a pretty good chance to repeat the victory Hammer’s Terror gave him last year with 3-year old colt Dorsett.
“We were coming out of the best races and he got in a lot of trouble in the American Derby last out, so we felt good about it, but you never know,” Stidham said.
Holiday Mischief caught 1-2 favorite Sunbean on the wire to win the $100,000 Prelude at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, and earn a fees-paid berth into next month’s Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby. Holiday Mischief won by a head, while Sunbean finished 6 3/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Runaway Stephen.
The Prelude was the richest of four stakes worth a cumulative $250,000 on the program. All of the races were preps for stakes on Super Derby Day, which is Sept. 7.
CHESTER, W.Va. – Departing rebounded off his sixth-place finish in the Preakness to dominate his eight opponents Saturday in the West Virginia Derby in the 44th running of the Grade 2, $750,000 race at Mountaineer Park by 8 1/4 lengths.
With Robby Albarado aboard, Departing launched a sustained bid while seven wide down the backstretch of the 1 1/8-mile race before surging past Overanalyze and front-running Ruler of Love on the far turn to post the largest margin of victory in the West Virginia Derby since Stellar Brush won by nine lengths in 1999.
Heavily favored Commander scored a front-running win over Silver Baubles in the inaugural running of the $50,000 Fred Jones at Northlands Park on Saturday.
With Aaron Gryder aboard, Commander ($3.50) broke sharply in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up and appeared very comfortable while posting fractions of 23.80 and 47.80 seconds for the first half-mile. He was in complete control of the race after six furlongs in 1:11.80 and never looked threatened while holding off Silver Baubles to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Senor Rojo finished third.
The final time was 1:43.80.
