SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Oklahoma turf course is normally closed for training on weekends throughout the summer at Saratoga although it was open on Sunday morning to allow horses preparing for upcoming stakes to work. Perhaps the word didn’t get out.
Only one trainer took advantage of the special session, Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, who sent out his Grade 1 winner Data Link to work a very sharp half-mile in 46.39 seconds in preparation for next Saturday’s Grade 2 Fourstardave.
Lucy’s Bob Boy ran down pacesetter Paco Smart in deep stretch to collect his third straight victory in the $51,150 Robert Leavitt Sakes for 3-year-old West Virginia-breds Saturday night at Charles Town.
Ridden by Gustavo Larrosa for trainer Sandra Dono and owner Michael Furr, Lucy’s Bob Boy ($4.20) is now 5 for 7 lifetime after completing the seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:27.10. He was coming off a win in the 4 1/2-furlong Coin Collector on June 30.
ALTOONA, Iowa -- Perennial leading owner Maggi Moss, on the verge of her 10th consecutive title at Prairie Meadows with a resounding 42 wins, swept a pair of Iowa Classic night stakes when reformed sprinter Hes Not You took the $86,683 Iowa Breeders' Derby and veteran Cresco Direct Hit proved best in the $77,575 Iowa Classic Sprint.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Bill Mott said he thought Royal Delta had come out of her hard-fought victory in the Delaware Handicap two weeks ago in good shape. Sunday, when Mott sent last year’s champion 3-year-old filly out for a workout at Saratoga, it only confirmed his belief.
Royal Delta breezed five furlongs in 1:02.46 Sunday morning over the Oklahoma training track, her first move since she won the Del Cap by a neck over Tiz Miz Sue.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Clare Court contingent was quite content Sunday morning at Saratoga.
Stabled next to each other in barns 5 and 6 on the far end of the main track side of the Saratoga backstretch, trainers Allen Jerkens and Ian Wilkes were still receiving congratulatory visits and phone calls on their respective Grade 1 victories from the previous day.
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OPELOUSAS, La. - Three-time winner and reigning Evangeline Mile champ Star Guitar will not defend his title when Evangeline Downs runs its signature event in the handicap division next Saturday night. The richest Louisiana-bred of all time with earnings of more than $1.75 million, Star Guitar, who recently won an unprecedented fourth Louisiana Legends Classic at Evangeline, was conspicuously absent when entries for the Mile were drawn Saturday.
Tribal Tribute was asked to do a number of new things Saturday in the $61,750 Robert Dupret Derby at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa.
He answered all the questions positively as he won his stakes debut, beating favored Tiz Point by three-quarters of a length in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. It was also Tribal Tribute’s first try around two turns and first on the turf.
Tribal Tribute ($11.40), a Tribal Rule gelding, settled nicely into third behind pacesetting Coach Bob and Tiz Point.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Trainer Michael Stidham has taken a liking to Canterbury Park's new purse structure, capping a sweep of the two major stakes of the season with the victory of Ruthville in the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes.
Locally stabled Rare Sunset shot off to a big early lead under jockey Geovanni Franco and blistered through fractions of 23.06 and 46.62 seconds. With her lead as much as seven lengths down the backstretch, Stidham assistant Chris Davis wasn't concerned.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Mix equal parts talent and volatility and you might produce the 2-year-old filly Gold Edge, who ran her record to 2 for 2 winning the $65,000 Lisa M Stakes by three-quarters of a length Saturday at Arlington Park despite throwing a minor fit in the paddock.
“I think she’s an unbelievable filly,” said trainer Lon Wiggins. “I think she’s a better horse than she showed today, considering her antics before the race.”
