OLDSMAR, Fla. - Swift Warrior stalked a soft pace for more than six furlongs, then rallied smartly down the middle of the Tampa Bay turf course to emerge from a four-horse photo with a half-length victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Tampa Bay Stakes.
Eleven months after finishing last in a $15,000 maiden claiming race at Turfway Park, Funnys Approval became a Grade 2 stakes winner Saturday when she recorded a front-running victory in the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at muddy Laurel Park.
Sent to the front soon after the start by Jose Vargas, Funnys Approval turned back an upper stretch challenge from 6-5 favorite My Wandy’s Girl, holding that rival at bay to the wire to win by three-quarters of a length. Sent off at 21-1, Funnys Approval returned $45.80.
Apprentice jockey Trevor McCarthy, son of former rider Michael McCarthy, won his first career stakes race Saturday when he guided Concealed Identity to a three-quarter length victory in the $104,250 John B. Campbell Handicap at Laurel.
Concealed Identity and McCarthy had to withstand a claim of foul from Junior Alvarado, the rider of third-place finisher Norman Asbjornson, who got sandwiched between Concealed Identity and second-place finisher Service for Ten inside the sixteenth pole.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Starformer, whose career has taken off since being stretched out around three turns for the first time here last winter, posted her third Grade 3 victory and did it in style, parlaying a perfect trip into a 3 1/4-length victory over 14-1 Angegreen in Saturday’s $100,000 Very One Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Starformer ran her record to 3 for 3 at 1 3/8 miles with her win in the Very One. She also captured the 1 1/2-mile Long Island Handicap in her 2012 finale at Aqueduct.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though it was officially a stakes race, Joan’s Choice may actually have been facing softer company in Saturday’s $75,000 Moro than he had faced in his previous allowance races.
Joan’s Choice took advantage of the soft company and a softer pace to win the Moro Stakes by four lengths at Aqueduct. Isn’t He Perfect, the 6-5 favorite, finished second, four lengths in front of Ea. Keep Me Informed and Burned Bridges completed the order of finish.
Joan’s Choice was ridden by apprentice Jose Ortiz, who recorded his first career stakes win.
It took him a little while to get untracked over the sloppy footing, but once he did, Pants On Fire asserted his class to register an easy 5 1/4-length victory over Megamove in Friday’s $65,000 feature at Gulfstream Park.
Things have gotten to the point where handicappers see a race carded for turf at Fair Grounds and automatically assume it will be run on dirt. Because of persistent rain and a course that won’t properly dry, there has been one day of grass racing in February and just 10 grass races since the calendar flipped to 2013.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park’s road to the Arkansas Derby gets serious on Monday with the running of the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest. Super Ninety Nine has invaded from Southern California for trainer Bob Baffert to lead the 10-horse field. Will Take Charge, Texas Bling and Always in a Tiz are back for a rematch after being separated by a neck in last month’s $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. And then there’s Big Lute, who is making his two-turn debut after winning the first race of his career with a Beyer Speed Figure of 89.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens worked Called to Serve at Santa Anita on Saturday morning and will have the mount on the improving 4-year-old in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 2.
Trained by Nick Canani for Marc Ferrell, Called to Serve worked six furlongs in 1:13.40, a time that equaled the fastest of 13 recorded works at the distance. Canani confirmed that Stevens will ride Called to Serve after the workout.
“What a story that would be if he won the Big Cap,” Canani said.
