ARCADIA, Calif. - Chokecherymary was once left behind at the start of a race at Hollywood Park in 2011 and declared a non-starter.
Saturday in the $100,000 Valentine Dancer Stakes at Santa Anita, she left six rival California-bred fillies and mares behind in the stretch of a one-mile turf race.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Mucho Macho Man has grown up.
The youngest horse in actual age on the Triple Crown trail last season, Mucho Macho Man gave every indication he will be a horse to reckon with in the handicap division as a 4-year-old after launching his season with an impressive 1 1/2-length victory over Ron the Greek in Saturday's $400,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Classic.
The Classic highlighted the six-race Florida Sunshine Millions program at Gulfstream Park that also featured an easy victory by Eclipse Award winner Awesome Feather in the Distaff.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark.- Riley Tucker pushed past $600,000 in career earnings Saturday at Oaklawn Park, when he outdueled Hamazing Destiny for a 1 1/4-length win in the $50,000 King Cotton Stakes. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back in third to River Bear.
The King Cotton was the first of two local preps for the Grade 3, $200,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn on April 14.
Grand Daddy, ridden by Julio Felix, rallied from far back to prevail narrowly in a three-horse photo Saturday in the $50,000 Forego Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
With an eighth-mile to go in the 6 1/2-furlong Polytrack race, the front-runners were backing up while three horses were coming on to take command: Grand Daddy, Tend, and Matthewsburg. That's the way they finished, with Grand Daddy, widest of all, having a neck margin on Tend at the wire, with Matthewsburg, the 5-2 favorite, another neck back in a field of 12 older horses.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The wider the margin grew between the pacesetters and Holladay Road in the first half of Saturday’s $100,000 Crystal Water Stakes at Santa Anita, the less that jockey Rafael Bejarano worried.
For the first half-mile of the race over 1 1/16 miles, Bejarano had Holladay Road 10 to 11 lengths behind pacesetters Bluegrass Reward and Macho Dorado, who set a torrid pace of 22.22 and 44.97 seconds.
“They tried to kill each other,” Bejarano said. “I knew there would be plenty of speed in the race.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Little Mike once again demonstrated his affinity for the Gulfstream Park turf course while showing he can indeed get nine furlongs as he went gate to wire to win Saturday's $150,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Turf by three-quarters of length.
The win was the ninth from 15 career starts for Little Mike and second straight since returning from a condylar fracture that forced him to miss eight months last year.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The majority of players who wagered on the Luck Pick Six were likely asking themselves "how" after Hooh Why knocked them out in the opening leg. The 18-1 longshot wore down 3-2 favorite Romacaca to register a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf.
Inheriting both the rail post and the role of favorite after the scratch of stablemate Katy Now, Love and Pride ($3.90) set a slow pace on a merry-go-round racetrack to wire the Affectionately Stakes easily over four pursuers at Aqueduct on Saturday.
Once morning-line choice Katy Now was scratched, Todd Pletcher's barn was represented by only Love and Pride. Her connections, and her many backers, never had an anxious moment.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A younger Compari may not have been as patient as the 6-year-old model in Saturday’s $100,000 Sensational Star Stakes at Santa Anita.
Compari was third in a field of five on the hillside portion of the race over about 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf course, stalking Ain’t No Other and My Summer Slew. Entering the stretch, Compari moved closer to the leaders and rallied between them to take the lead in the final furlong.
The Sensational Star Stakes was the fifth career stakes win for Compari.
Beggarthyneighbor, jumping directly into stakes company following a narrow win over maidens in his third career start, emerged from a three-way fight for the lead in midstretch to capture Saturday’s $100,000 Dancing Count for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park.
