FORT ERIE, Ontario - Sans Sousi captured the $125,000 Rainbow Connection Stakes at Fort Erie on Monday evening, covering the five furlongs over a firm turf course in 58:67 seconds under jockey Luis Contreras.
Sans Sousi, rated off the early pace set by three rivals, bided her time, took command in early stretch, drew clear, and then was full out to stave off a late-charging Bent Attorney by a neck.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Celtic Princess won her first graded stakes in the United States in Monday's $150,000 Royal Heroine Stakes at Hollywood Park, a race that left owner Luiz Fernando Dannemann and trainer A.C. Avila hoping for bigger accomplishments later this summer and fall.
Celtic Princess won the Grade 2 Royal Heroine Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths over Harmonious, a two-time Grade 1 winner last year. Andina finished third in the field of six.
E F Five added another Arapahoe Park sprint win to his résumé on Monday, when he led throughout to take the $40,000 Front Range by 4 3/4 lengths over even-money favorite Stephengothisstar. The win came on the heels of E F Five's victory in last month's $40,000 Aspen.
E F Five ($22.40) set the pace while racing off the rail, leading the field through fractions of 23.15 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.50 for the half-mile mark. He went on to cover the seven furlongs in 1:21.54.
Black Diamond Cat and Accredit, a pair of sprinters who were winless on turf, capitalized when Monday’s $75,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint was transferred from grass to Calder’s main track to run one-two, triggering a $1,018 trifecta for a $2 wager.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The last time Churchill Downs ended a meet with a big weekend, Charlie Lopresti drove home to Lexington in bitter disappointment. Lopresti sent out Successful Dan to finish first in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap last November, only to see the horse disqualified to third.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Roaring Lion defended his title in the $75,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes, holding off 1-2 favorite Sean Avery on Independence Day at Monmouth Park.
Owned by the Repole Stable, Roaring Lion made a winning debut for trainer Todd Pletcher. Bruce Levine was in charge last year when Roaring Lion beat Wildcat Brief by a nose.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Owner Bobby Flay and trainer Todd Pletcher hemmed and hawed for two days before ultimately deciding to run Her Smile in Monday's $250,000 Prioress Stakes at Belmont Park.
At 11 a.m. Monday, they finally agreed to give it a shot. Six hours later, Flay was rewarded with his first Grade 1 victory as an owner as Her Smile, taking advantage of a hotly contested pace, rallied powerfully along the rail in the stretch under Javier Castellano to win the Prioress by one-half length.
Daveron pulled away to a 2 1/4-length victory over Gitchee Goomie on Monday in the $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap for fillies and mares on the turf at Parx Racing.
A 6-year-old bred in Germany, Daveron ($11) posted her third win in the last four races. She is 2 for 2 on the season, beating Gitchee Goomie both times.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Uncle Mo, last year’s 2-year-old champion who missed the Kentucky Derby because of a rare liver disease, has recently started galloping and is expected to ship to Saratoga next Monday, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.
Uncle Mo has been based at WinStar Farm in Kentucky since May 9 and started jogging on June 24.
“Excellent so far,” Pletcher said when asked how Uncle Mo was doing.
Pletcher wouldn’t say Uncle Mo was ahead of schedule, because “we didn’t really have a schedule.”
ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Todd Pletcher said he could find no plausible excuse for Hilda’s Passion’s disappointing sixth-place finish as the 1-4 favorite in Sunday’s Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses Handicap at Belmont and plans to move forward to the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga on Aug. 27.
“The only explanation I would have is I don’t think she liked the surface, which obviously was playing pretty slow,” Pletcher said. “Besides that, we don’t see any other physical explanation for it at this point. Just got to throw it out and regroup – point for the Ballerina and see what happens.
