OCEANPORT, N.J. - She Digs Me, the "other" Steve Asmussen trainee in the Grade 3, $106,500 Sapling, romped to a 6 1/4 length victory in the Monmouth Park meet's top event for 2-year-olds.
Asmussen's Voodoo Daddy took most of the betting action as the even-money favorite following an impressive debut win at Saratoga.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Quiet Giant spent the winter winning minor stakes over the inner-track at Aqueduct. On Saturday, she took a major leap forward with a decisive victory in the Grade 2, $252,500 Molly Pitcher Stakes for fillies and mares at Monmouth Park.
A 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher, Quiet Giant turned the corner in two races this summer on the Jersey Shore. She won the Lady's Secret, the Molly Pitcher prep, by 6 3/4 lengths.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The 4-year-old gelding Mister Marti Gras has gotten caught up in all kinds of intrigue during late summer 2011. In mid-August, he was temporarily elevated from runner-up to the winner of the July 9 Arlington Handicap after Tajaaweed was disqualified for a positive drug test. But on Aug. 25, that ruling was reversed on a technicality, and Mister Marti Gras was back to his second-place spot.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Atlantic Hurricane upset 2-5 favorite Embur’s Song while winning her first stakes in the Grade 3, $162,500 Seaway at Woodbine Saturday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Owner Rick Porter wanted to give Havre de Grace a chance to be considered for Horse of the Year, and the 4-year-old filly put herself in the conversation on Saturday with a popular victory over seven male opponents in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes before 24,430 fans at Saratoga.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In what was shaping up as a lost summer, trainer Nick Zito found himself a Grade 1 winner on Saturday when Jackson Bend split horses in midstretch and drew clear to a dominant 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $250,000 Forego Stakes at Saratoga.
The win came six weeks after Jackson Bend began the meet with a victory in the James Marvin Stakes, and solidified his status as a major contender for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile later this year at Churchill Downs.
MIAMI - Heavy showers that swept through the area shortly before post time changed both the condition of the racetrack and complexion of Saturday’s $75,000 Darn That Alarm Stakes at Calder with Flatter This taking advantage of the sloppy course to roll to a decisive 6 1/2-length victory over Stimulus Plan.
The wet track and an unlucky start certainly did not help the cause of Motovato, who finished fifth and last as the prohibitive 1-5 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Darn That Alarm.
Pay the Man saved ground the entire trip under jockey Luis A. Gonzalez, made the lead just before the eighth pole, and drew off to a 3 1/4-length win in the 27th running of the $50,000 Rose DeBartolo Memorial Stakes at Thistledown on Saturday afternoon.
Muir Woods was second, 6 3/4 lengths ahead of Honey Be Fleet.
Cat Loves This has spent the bulk of his 19-race career running for a claiming price, dropping to as low as $12,500 in July 2010 at Woodbine. That merely made him eligible for a series of $12,500 starter allowances at his new home, Parx Racing, where the 5-year-old Cat Loves This collected three wins and three seconds between mid-March and late June.
Celestic Night pulled an upset in Friday’s $100,000 El Cajon Stakes for 3-year-olds and gave trainer Mike Mitchell his 21st winner of the meeting.
Through Friday, Mitchell led the trainer standings by three races over John Sadler. Peter Miller was a distant third with 10 wins. If Mitchell holds on to the lead through Wednesday’s closing day, the training title will be his first at Del Mar since 1996, and first at any track since the 2008 Los Angles County fair meeting at Fairplex Park.
