ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Rick Dutrow originally entered Smart Stride as a rabbit for her entrymate C C’s Pal in Saturday’s $200,000 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park. As things turned out, it was C C’s Pal’s five rivals who needed the rabbit.
With Smart Stride scratched, C C's Pal surprisingly set the pace then reasserted herself in deep stretch to outgame old friend Nicole H and register a well-deserved neck victory in the Grade 2 Vagrancy.
Thundering Emilia, winless in seven starts since coming to the United States from South America and a loser of 13 straight races overall, snapped a more than two-year drought by taking the $75,000 John W. Rooney Memorial Stakes on Saturday at Delaware Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Rooney on the grass served as a local prep for fillies and mares pointing to the Grade 3 Robert Dick Memorial, at 1 3/8 miles on turf, on July 14.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Marketing Mix wore down Roxy Gap in the final furlong to capture the $358,800 Nassau Stakes in workmanlike fashion at Woodbine Saturday.
Marketing Mix handled the soft turf adequately in the one-mile Nassau, coming from third to win the Grade 2 event by a 1 1/4 lengths in 1:37.74. Roxy Gap tracked the slow pace en route to running second, and her stablemate Indian Pond rallied for third. Inglorious, last year’s Queen’s Plate and Woodbine Oaks winner, finished a flat fourth in a field reduced to six with the scratch of Skylara.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Ten years ago, trainer Ken McPeek pulled off the biggest upset in Belmont Stakes history with the 70-1 Sarava. On Saturday, McPeek will try to do it all over again by taking on the heavily favored I’ll Have Another with his two outsiders, Atigun and Unstoppable U.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Santa Anita stakes winner Slim Shadey is staying home for his next start.
The winner of the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes in January, Slim Shadey is being pointed to the $250,000 Charles Whittingham Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park next Saturday, trainer Simon Callaghan said.
Second in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on May 5, Slim Shadey had been considered for the $500,000 Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park on Saturday.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Five of the 11 likely starters in next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, including Dullahan and Union Rags, had their scheduled workouts postponed on Saturday due to heavy rains that moved up the East Coast and pelted Belmont Park Friday evening and into Saturday morning.
The Ken McPeek-trained duo of Atigun and Unstoppable U along with the Chad Brown-trained Street Life also had their works postponed on Saturday.
OPELOUSAS, La. - She’s Prado’s Idol worked hard to live up to her billing as the 9-5 favorite in Friday night’s $50,000 Acadiana Stakes at Evangeline Downs, outfinishing 6-1 outsider Midge Four after a protracted stretch duel to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
Out of town horses, one from Philadelphia and the other from New York, took home the bulk of the purse money in the first two stakes of the season at Penn National on Friday night.
Jake N Elwood, based at Parx Racing with trainer Mike Petro, used a four-wide move turning for home under Kyle Frey to win the $75,000 Danzig for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-olds by 1 1/4 lengths. Jane N Elwood ($9.20) ran the six furlongs on a sloppy track in 1:10.67 to win for the second time in five starts.
ELMONT, N.Y. - On Thursday, trainer Doug O’Neill said he didn’t think Boxeur Des Rues would make the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap because of an issue with his right front foot.
But Boxeur Des Rues was fitted with a three-quarter shoe on that foot and trained better Friday. If he continues to train forwardly, Boxeur Des Rues will run in the June 8 Brooklyn with Mario Gutierrez aboard. This will give Gutierrez the opportunity to ride a 1 1/2-mile race prior to Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, when he will be aboard I’ll Have Another in the Belmont.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Saratoga Snacks, a New York-bred 3-year-old, made a smashing return to the races, winning a first-level statebred allowance by 2 1/2 lengths Thursday. He ran six furlongs in 1:09.43 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 93.
Saratoga Snacks, trained by Gary Sciacca for two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Parcells, hadn’t run since Sept. 3 at Saratoga, when he won a maiden race by 2 3/4 lengths.
Late last year, Saratoga Snacks suffered a hairline fracture to his right front pastern, which required the insertion of a screw, according to Sciacca.
