Aggie Engineer, who won two graded stakes last winter and placed in three other stakes in a 21-race career, has been retired, co-owner Roberta Williford said on Saturday.
A 6-year-old gelding bred and raced by Williford and her husband, Ward, Aggie Engineer finished sixth in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 30 in his final career start. The decision to retire Aggie Engineer was made after the Willifords and trainer Paddy Gallagher watched him train in recent weeks.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Dabnabit pulled off another upset in a New Jersey-bred handicap, winning the $66,500 Colts Neck on Sunday at rainy Monmouth Park.
A 6-year-old trained by Louis Carvajal Jr., Dabnabit won the John J. Reilly Handicap in late May at 16-1.
His next two races were against open company with fifth- and sixth-place finishes.
Back with the statebreds, Dabnabit battled hard for the Colts Neck victory that paid $27.40 to win with Victor Santiago aboard.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario— Kara’s Orientation ran them off their feet under Emile Ramsammy to post a 7-1 upset in the Grade 2, $250,000 Sky Classic Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday.
Kara’s Orientation went right to the front in the 1 1/4-mile route, and proceeded to set a lively pace on a substantial lead. He had an eight-length lead after a mile, before holding on to score by 2 ¼ lengths, in a time of 2:04.87 over a turf course labeled as good.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Hungry Island parlayed her own talents and the misfortune of the 2-5 favorite Winter Memories, who suffered through a second straight eventful trip, to register a convincing 2 1/2-length victory over Kathmanblu in Sunday’s $150,000 Lake Placid Stakes decided over a yielding course at Saratoga.
Winter Memories finished fourth, 3 1/4 lengths behind Hungry Island, in the scratched reduced field of seven 3-year-old fillies who contested the 1 1/8-mile Lake Placid.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.- While Uncle Mo has captured most of the attention and been squarely in the spotlight as he works his way up to his much anticipated return in Saturday’s Grade 1 King’s Bishop at Saratoga, trainer Wesley Ward has taken just the opposite approach preparing Flashpoint for the same race.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Twirling Candy, expected to be one of the leading choices in next Sunday’s Pacific Classic, worked one mile in 1:37.80 on Sunday morning at Del Mar with jockey Joel Rosario aboard.
Twirling Candy is coming off a close, third-place finish to First Dude, who has subsequently been retired, and Game On Dude in last month’s Hollywood Gold Cup.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - One day after winning this meet’s most prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies, trainer Bill Mott turned his attention to trying to win this meet’s most prestigious race for 3-year-old colts by sending out Raison d’Etat for a five-furlong workout in preparation for Saturday’s $1 million Travers Stakes.
Tup Take’ Please recovered from an awkward start and turned back challenges in deep stretch from both defending champion Black Belt and odds-on favorite Russell Road to win Saturday night’s $50,000 Frank Gall Memorial Stakes for West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.
The seven-furlong Gall served as a local prep for horses being pointed to the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic at 1 1/8 miles and the $85,000 Onion Juice at seven furlongs on Oct. 15.
Balooga Bull cemented his status as the top 2-year-old male at Assiniboia Downs with an 8 ½-length romp in Saturday evening's $25,000 Osiris Stakes.
Trained by Ardell Sayler, Balooga Bull improved his record to 3 for 3 in the six-furlong Osiris after capturing the 5 ½-furlong Graduation in his second career start on Aug. 1.
Balooga Bull paid off at a paltry $2.30 after defeating five overmatched rivals.
First-time starter Samurai Slam finished second and Dixieland Gold ended third.
Ravalo won the 12th stakes race of his career on Saturday night, when he fought back for a half-length win over Captain Cherokee in the $200,000 Remington Park Sprint Cup. It was the second time Ravalo has shipped from Maryland to Oklahoma City for the race, finishing third in the six-furlong feature in 2009.
