Sat, 09/29/2012 - 22:06

Presque Isle: Heaven's Runway connects at 16-1 in Fitz Dixon

Coady Photography/ Renee Torbit
Heaven's Runway, ridden by Harry Vega, holds off Uptown Boy in the Fitz Dixon Memorial.

Heaven's Runway set the pace under Harry Vega and was all out to prevail in the $100,000 Fitz Dixon Memorial at Presque Isle Downs on Saturday evening.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 21:14

Santa Anita: Game On Dude dominates Awesome Again

Benoit & Associates
Rafael Bejarano collects his third of four stakes wins on the day aboard Game On Dude in the Awesome Again.

ARCADIA, Calif.- There might not be any NHL hockey for a while, but Bob Baffert and Rafael Bejarano each scored a Grade 1 hat trick on Saturday, capped off by an easy, 3 1/4-length victory by Game On Dude in the $250,000 Awesome Again Stakes before 17,565 at Santa Anita.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 20:33

Santa Anita: Marketing Mix easy winner of Rodeo Drive

Benoit & Associates
Marketing Mix, ridden by Garrett Gomez, closes from sixth to win the Rodeo Drive.

ARCADIA, Calif.- Marketing Mix has won races as lucrative as Saturday’s $250,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita, but none as important.

By winning the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive, Marketing Mix has firmly joined the list of contenders for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 2. She earned a fees-paid berth to the race with her comfortable victory in the race over 1 1/4 miles on turf.

“She makes you high on her,” said winning trainer Tom Proctor. “She’s handled everything we ever done to her.”

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 20:22

Santa Anita: Love and Pride uncatchable in Zenyatta

Benoit & Associates
Love and Pride, under Martin Garcia, captures her second straight Grade 1 stakes in the Zenyatta.

ARCADIA, Calif.- Nationwide, Love and Pride is demanding attention in the older female division.

In Saturday’s $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita, Love and Pride led throughout the race over 1 1/16 miles to win her second consecutive Grade 1. She won her first career Grade 1 race in the Personal Ensign Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 26.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 20:16

Santa Anita: Power Broker wins FrontRunner, gives Baffert sweep of juvenile stakes

Benoit & Associates
Power Broker, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, collects his first career stakes victory in the FrontRunner.

ARCADIA, Calif. - When trainer Bob Baffert arrived at Del Mar this summer, Power Broker was at or near the top of his list of 2-year-old colts. Then he ran. Not once, not twice, but three times, Power Broker failed to win, yet Baffert kept the colt in high regard, and on Saturday at Santa Anita, Power Broker showed why.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 19:58

Hastings: Racing for Gold prevails by neck in CTHS Sales Stakes

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Racing for Gold rallied to edge longshot Tempered Sapphire by a neck in the $50,000 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse  Society  Sales Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Hastings on Saturday. She paid $6  for her narrow win in the 1 1/16-mile feature.

Heavily favored Dance the Wind came from well back to finish third, another neck behind Tempered Sapphire.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 19:25

Santa Anita: Executiveprivilege stays unbeaten in Chandelier

Benoit & Associates
Executiveprivilege pulls away to win the Grade 1 Chandelier by 6 1/4 lengths under Rafael Bejarano.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Executiveprivilege is bound for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 2 with an unbeaten record.

Stretching her winning streak to five races, Executiveprivilege had little trouble winning her first start around two turns in Saturday’s $250,000 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita. The BC Juvenile Fillies will be run over the same 1 1/16 miles as the Chandelier.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 19:14

Northlands: Toccetive just gets up in Speed to Spare

Under a perfectly timed ride by Rafael Zenteno, Toccetive rallied to edge Real Dingo by a neck in the $100,000 Speed to Spare for 3-year-olds and up at Northlands Park Saturday. He paid $6.20 as the second choice in the wagering behind Senor Rojo, who set a moderate pace before tiring to finish third.

The final time for the 1 3/8-mile feature was 2:23.00.

Toccetive, trained by Joan Petrowski, became the first horse to win the Grade 3 Canadian Derby and Speed to Spare in the same year.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 18:33

Belmont Park: Point of Entry collects fifth straight win in Joe Hirsch Turf Classic

Barbara D. Livingston
Point of Entry, under John Velazquez, solidifies his status as America's best hope in the Breeders' Cup by taking the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

ELMONT, N. Y. – Point of Entry began 2012 eligible to a second-level allowance race. He is approaching the end of the 2012 racing season as perhaps America’s top hope for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 18:07

Belmont Park: Flat Out repeats in Gold Cup, BC Classic is next up

Tom Keyser
Flat Out (left) nails front-running Stay Thirsty in deep stretch of the Jockey Club Gold Cup as Ramon Dominguez's whip sails over the inner rail.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Flat Out returned to his favorite racetrack Saturday and returned to the winner’s circle in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. Now he will return to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race where he was the beaten favorite a year ago.

Flat Out, winless in six starts since capturing last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup, needed the length of the Belmont Park stretch to get past the pace-setting Stay Thirsty to win the Gold Cup by a head before a crowd of 8,639.

It was 5 1/2 lengths back to Whitney winner Fort Larned in third.