ALTOONA, Iowa – Beware the Devil glided up to his favored stablemate Rudy's Edge on the far turn, forged clear into the stretch, and went on to a decisive 5 1/2-length tally in the $99,598 Iowa Stalllion Stakes.
Patiently handled by Alex Birzer, who was registering his meet leading win No. 73, the Lynn Chleborad-trained Beware the Devil outstayed his six rivals while covering the mile and 70-yard distance in 1:43.77.
Highly touted Broken Sword lived up to her advance billing as she scored an 11-length victory in the $53,700 Juan Gonzalez Memorial on Saturday at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.
The Broken Vow filly brushed the gate coming out under Russell Baze, but was third in a three-way head-and-head pace duel outside of leaders Island Fashion and Set’n On Ready through a brisk 21.81-second opening quarter.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Game On Dude was leading the field into early stretch in Saturday’s $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park when jockey Chantal Sutherland heard Rafael Bejarano closing in on Richard’s Kid.
Bejarano was shouting at Sutherland that he was going to catch her, which only made Sutherland more determined not to let a win in the Gold Cup get away.
“Rafael said, ‘Here I come, Chantal,’” Sutherland said. “I got a little nervous when Rafael said that.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif.- Quiet Oasis has grown up quite nicely during the Betfair Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting.
A filly once prone to being overeager early in her races has learned to settle. The results at the current meeting include a win in the Grade 3 Wilshire Handicap in April, a second in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes in May, and a win in Saturday’s $150,000 Royal Heroine Stakes over a mile on turf.
ERIE, Pa --- Jockey Jesse Jimenez Garcia, 52, was injured Saturday evening at Presque Isle Downs when his mount flipped over on him in the paddock.
Garcia's femur was broken, according to initial reports, when his mount, Fluttering, flipped over and fell on him as the pair was leaving for the sixth race. Fluttering was scratched and returned to the barn. The sixth race was delayed 36 minutes following the accident.
Garcia, who has 2,075 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse wins in his career, has four wins at Presque Isle in his first season here.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - The leading story line heading into the Grade 2, $195,000 Monmouth Cup on Saturday was the return of Flat Out after a lengthy layoff.
Turns out, that was the right angle, but the wrong horse.
Rule, back in action for the first time since the Hawthorne Gold Cup in October, pulled a mild upset at 5-2 in the race formerly known as the Meadowlands Cup.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – It has been a long, winding road for the gelding Saint Leon. A one-time $5,000 conditioned claimer at Mountaineer Park, the 7-year-old made the first stakes start of his career in the $100,000 Arlington Sprint on Saturday, and he won it, leading from start to finish under E.T. Baird.
Saint Leon popped the gate and outsprinted Birdie Beats Par for the lead, turned back a challenge from 2011 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Regally Ready at the top of the stretch, and then held off a sustained late bid from 2010 BC Turf Sprint winner Chamberlain Bridge.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Allen Jerkens told Junior Alvarado just two things before the jockey took a seat aboard Emma’s Encore prior to Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont Park
“Just give her a chance and don’t be fooled by the price,” said Jerkens, whose filly was dismissed as the 39-1 rank outsider in the six-horse field.
Long-time followers of New York racing learned that lesson long ago when it comes to the Hall of Famer Jerkens in a stakes race.
MIAMI - Gantry proved he is a true six-furlong specialist while at the same time earning himself a free berth into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint with a surprisingly easy five-length victory over Indiano in Saturday’s $400,000 Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder.
The Grade 2 Smile was marred when Field Commission was pulled up by jockey Manoel Cruz in the run down the backstretch and vanned off after the race. Several minutes earlier, Peb Hughes was scratched on the advice of the track veterinarian after injuring himself in the starting gate.
Prospective flaunted his class Saturday while proving a popular favorite in notching his fifth stakes victory in the 78th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.
With Jermaine Bridgmohan aboard for owner John Oxley and trainer Mark Casse, Prospective returned $3.20 with a 2 1/2-length triumph over Politicallycorrect in the 1 1/16-mile race. As the lone stakes winner in the field, Prospective carried high weight of 124 pounds, spotting the runner-up eight pounds.
