ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Alpha Bettor saved ground under a good ride from Justin Stein en route to an upset score in the $200,000 Eclipse Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday.
Alpha Bettor ($29.60) raced in third along the backstretch in the Grade 2 route as Don Cavallo set lively fractions, with 1-5 favorite Delegation in close proximity. Alpha Bettor came along the rail in the stretch and prevailed by a neck over Delegation in a quick 1:42.69 for the 1 1/16 miles.
Preakness Weekend will get off to a rousing start Friday, when Ashland Stakes winner Emollient takes on Maryland hotshot Walkwithapurpose in the Grade 2, $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan.
The 3-year-old filly classic is one of 16 stakes to be run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Friday and Saturday. The races are worth $3.4 million in total, with the centerpiece the second leg of the Triple Crown, the 138th Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
Itsmyluckyday worked a half-mile in 47.20 seconds Sunday afternoon at Monmouth Park, a drill Eddie Plesa Jr., his trainer and co-owner, wanted to get in prior to Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will not run in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes and instead will make the $1 million Travers on Aug. 24 at Saratoga his next major objective, owner Rick Porter said Sunday.
Porter said Normandy Invasion would make his next start in either the $600,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on July 27 or the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 28.
ALTOONA, Iowa – Wings of War benefited from an ideal trip under jockey Shane Laviolette and a duel between heavily favored stablemates when rallying for a half-length victory in the $70,000 John Wayne Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for Iowa-breds, at Prairie Meadows on Saturday.
As the Chris Richard-trained coupled entry of Ice Hockey and Cresco Direct Hit, sent off at 3-10, battled through fractions of 22.61 and 45.83 seconds, Wings of War ($13.80) bided his time along the rail before angling three wide approaching the furlong pole and taking aim on the pacesetters.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Departing, one of the top threats to Orb in the 138th Preakness Stakes, had his final workout for the race when going a very easy half-mile in 50.40 seconds on a beautiful Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - I Think So ran away and hid from her rivals in the $50,000 Ross McLeod for 3-year-old fillies at Hastings on Saturday. Sent off as a slight favorite over Goldstryke Glory in the seven-horse field, I Think So paid $4.20 for her impressive front-running win.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is a pick six carryover at Betfair Hollywood Park for the first time in two weeks for Sunday’s nine-race program.
Consecutive wins by the outsiders Charlie Em ($21.40) and Jovita’s Tuffy ($46.80) in Saturday’s sixth and seventh races eliminated most tickets from contention, and has led to a carryover of $119,916 for Sunday.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Charlie Em won a claimer in Wolverhampton, England, last August. Saturday, she won her American debut in a much fancier race, the $100,500 Senorita Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Ridden by Garrett Gomez, Charlie Em had an ideal trip in the Grade 3 Senorita, winning the one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies by a head over Scarlet Strike, the 3-5 favorite. Scarlet Strike was last of eight early, and closed well with a wide rally to just miss winning her second consecutive race.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - He Has Bling became a stakes winner Saturday at Lone Star Park, when he rallied past dueling leaders to win the $75,000 colts and geldings division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. The one-mile race was the first of three stakes on the program, with Tastefullyxcessive taking the $75,000 fillies division of the Stallion Stakes and Lillie Abbie up for a nose win in the $50,000 Lane’s End Stallion Scholarship.
