Sat, 10/06/2012 - 21:02

Santa Anita: A Jealous Woman holds on in Swingtime

Benoit & Associates
A Jealous Woman, with Brice Blanc riding, notches a stakes victory in the Swingtime.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A Jealous Woman led throughout Saturday's restricted $87,100 Swingtime Stakes at Santa Anita to win the first stakes of her career.

Ridden by Brice Blanc for trainer Francis Meza, A Jealous Woman ($14.20) ran a mile on turf in 1:33.84, holding off a late threat from Lady Ten to win by a length. Byrony, the 3-2 favorite, finished third in the field of nine fillies and mares.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 20:39

Fresno: Fury Kapcori handles two turns in Charlie Palmer Futurity

Even-money favorite Fury Kapcori  was content to stalk multiple stakes-winning Anytime Magic early and proved best in the stretch as he scored a solid victory in the $75,250 Charlie Palmer Futurity at the Big Fresno Fair on Saturday.

Coming off a six-length wire-to-wire maiden victory at Golden Gate Fields, Fury Kapcori ($4), a son of two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow,  turned in a professional performance in his stakes debut and first race around two turns. It was the first race at the distance for all five 2-year-olds.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 20:33

Santa Anita: Coil all out to win Sprint Championship

Benoit & Associates
Coil (inside) stays a head in front of Capital Account to win the Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Coil seems capable of winning Grade 1 races at any distance.

In 2011, he won the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational over 1 1/8 miles at Monmouth Park, the highlight of a season of two stakes wins.

Coil had yet to have a notable highlight this year - until the $250,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Saturday. Making his first start at six furlongs in 17 months, Coil won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a head over Capital Account.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 20:00

Turf Paradise: Page Springs wires Princess of Palms

PHOENIX -  After her form tailed off back East, Page Springs returned to the Turf Paradise where she got her career off to such a marvelous start, and the home cooking did the trick as the 3-year-old filly got back on track to capture Saturday's $35,000 Princess of Palms.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 19:53

Hawthorne: Pool Play relishes return to dirt in Hawthorne Gold Cup

Four-Footed Fotos
Pool Play, ridden by Miguel Mena, pays $34 for his upset in the Hawthorne Gold Cup.

The 7-year-old horse Pool Play is competent on turf, and he is even better on synthetic surfaces, having won five such races. But it’s safe to say Pool Play prefers dirt. Before Saturday, he was 1 for 1 on it, scoring a 36-1 shocker in the 2011 Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap. And now he’s 2 for 2.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 19:49

Belmont Park: King David claims Jamaica Handicap as his

Barbara D. Livingston
King David, with Rosie Napravnik riding, wins the Jamaica at 28-1.

ELMONT, N.Y. - King David went from a popular commodity at the claim box to an unlikely Grade 1 winner at Belmont Park Saturday, upsetting the $400,00 Jamaica Handicap by a half-length at odds of 28-1.King Kreesa, a 23-1 longshot who set the pace under Eddie Castro, finished second by three-quarters of a length over an unlucky Summer Front, who got stopped trying to rally along the rail under Ramon Dominguez.

Cogito was fourth followed by Dullahan, the 8-5 favorite, Shkspeare Shaliyah and Howe Great. Unbridled Command scratched.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 19:14

Belmont: Dreaming of Julia has to work hard to take Frizette

Barbara D. Livingston
Dreaming of Julia (foreground) edges My Happy Face in the Frizette for 2-year-old fillies.

ELMONT, N.Y. - What was supposed to be a mismatch in the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette, turned into a match race that ultimately went to the favorite, Dreaming of Julia.

 Seemingly poised to go by My Happy Face in midstretch, Dreaming of Julia had to withstand a fight through the final furlong, prevailing by a short head over a stubborn My Happy Face at Belmont Park. It was 10 3/4 lengths back to Toasting. Nancy O was last.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 18:56

Champagne: Shanghai Bobby wins but not definite for Breeders' Cup; Pletcher passes Frankel on earnings list

Barbara D. Livingston
Shanghai Bobby pulls away to a five-length victory in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Shanghai Bobby delivered another sterling performance, winning Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Champagne Stakes by five lengths at Belmont Park.

The win was the fourth in as many starts for Shanghai Bobby, confirming his status as the top 2-year-old colt in the country. Now, the question most people want answered is whether Shanghai Bobby will ship cross-country to Santa Anita for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, a race for which he earned a fees-paid berth as part of the Win and You’re in program.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 18:46

Hoosier Park: Neck 'n Neck overcomes wide trip to win Indiana Derby

Linscott Photography
Neck 'n Neck wins the Indiana Derby, giving jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. a sweep of Hoosier's two biggest stakes of the day..

Trainer Ian Wilkes’s home track is Churchill Downs, and the good 3-year-old he trains, Neck ‘n Neck, likes it there, too. Before Saturday, Neck ‘n Neck won 3 of 5  starts at Churchill and 0  of 7 elsewhere. But the track at Hoosier Park evidently suits him. Rallying from 10th in an 11-horse field, Neck ‘n Neck scored a one-length victory in the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby, the biggest win of his career.

Sat, 10/06/2012 - 18:27

Laurel: Not Abroad snaps losing streak in Maryland Million Classic

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Not Abroad, with Nick Petro aboard, scores a daylight victory in the featured $150,000 Maryland Million Classic.

Not Abroad, unable to get the job done in a series of much longer races, relished the cut back to 1 1/8 miles and dominated Saturday’s Jim McKay Maryland Million Classic at Laurel Park.

The $150,000 Classic was the feature on an 11-race program, worth a collective $1.05 million, devoted to the offspring of Maryland-based stallions.