ARCADIA, Calif. – Even though Include Me Out was coming off the biggest race of her career in the La Canada Stakes on Jan. 22, trainer Ron Ellis and owner Samantha Siegel resisted the temptation to come back a month later, believing their best shot of winning the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational on Saturday at Santa Anita was to come into it fresh.
The plan could not have worked out any better.
Arena Elvira posted her fifth straight victory by edging out R Gypsy Gold in the $50,000 Wayward Lass Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.
With the track's leading rider, Leandro Goncalves, aboard, Arena Elvira raced in mid-pack before getting up in the final strides to win the 1 1/16-mile race by a head as the odds-on favorite. R Gypsy Gold, the 5-2 second choice, finished six lengths ahead of Dash Dot Dash in a field of seven fillies and mares.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Secret Circle handled the latest distance test in his escalating career Saturday at Oaklawn Park, when he beat a fast-closing Optimizer by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 2, $500,000 Rebel Stakes. In the process, Secret Circle gave his trainer, Bob Baffert, his third consecutive Rebel win in a streak that started with Lookin At Lucky in 2010 and continued with the The Factor in 2011.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The champ is back!
Eclipse Award winner Musical Romance rebounded from her disappointing 2012 debut in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint to register a three-quarter-length victory over the 45-1 Hot Summer in Saturday's $150,000 Inside Information at Gulfstream Park. Groupie Doll, the tepid 3-1 favorite in the evenly matched field, rallied belatedly to finish third.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Tiz Miz Sue put herself under consideration for next month’s Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap when she rolled past the leaders in the stretch to win the local prep, the Grade 3, $150,000 Azeri, before a crowd of 31,882 at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. She won by three lengths over She’s All In, while it was another length back in third to Joyful Victory.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Tony Dutrow had some concern running Marilyn's Guy back four weeks after the horse returned from an 11-month layoff with a huge effort in his last start.
But Marilyn's Guy delivered another big effort Saturday at Aqueduct, opening up a sizeable advantage turning for home then holding on at the wire to take the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior Stakes by a neck over San Pablo at Aqueduct.
As comeback races go, Havre de Grace’s on Saturday at Fair Grounds couldn’t have been much better.
Havre de Grace got to run in the afternoon rather than during a morning work, and she had to work a little harder than has been the case in her recent drills – but not much. Tracking the pace in a short field, Havre de Grace challenged the leading duo of Sterling Madame and Juanita midway around the far turn, seized command of the $150,000 New Orleans Ladies at the top of the stretch, and went on to a 4 1/2- length victory.
ARCADIA, Calif. – When it looked like the Irish O’Brien Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita would have a small field, Barry Abrams, the trainer and co-owner of Lindz Winz, figured he’d run her, even though she’d be a longshot, figuring she had a chance to at least pick up some black type.
She did better than that. She’s now a stakes winner.
Lindz Winz ($18.60), the longest shot in a field of five, relished a sloppy, sealed track when scoring a 2 1/4-length victory over Camille C in the $100,000 Irish O’Brien, for older California-bred fillies and mares.
Jockey Javier Castellano broke the record for most wins during a Gulfstream meet when guiding Repenter to a popular victory in Saturday’s first race. Repenter gave Castellano his 98th win of the session, eclipsing the previous mark shared by Jerry Bailey (1996), Wigberto Ramos (1991), and Julio Pezua (1987).
“It’s a great day in my life,” said Castellano. “I’ve been doing so well lately. I’ve been so lucky but I’ve had a lot of help from all my owners and trainers and my agent Matt Muzikar.”
