ARCADIA, Calif. - In the case of Liberian Freighter on Saturday, good things came to those who waited, and waited, and waited some more.
Liberian Freighter delayed the start of the Grade 2, $150,000 Arcadia Stakes at Santa Anita, refusing to come to the gate for several minutes. But after finally making his way there, he loaded perfectly, leaped out of the gate, and led his six rivals on a merry chase, scoring a front-running victory in the one-mile grass race for older horses.
STICKNEY, Ill - Trainer Todd Pletcher won a Kentucky Derby prep race Saturday. It just wasn't the one everyone expected.
About 10 minutes before Uncle Mo went down to surprising defeat in the Wood Memorial, Pletcher-trained Joe Vann turned in a solid performance winning the Grade 3, $300,000 Illinois Derby by 4 1/4 lengths. Joe Vann was a maiden in mid-February, but now has won three races in a row by almost 14 lengths combined.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Havre de Grace, Switch, and Life At Ten have been co-highweighted at 119 pounds for the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Friday, April 15. Blind Luck, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2010, is weighted at 118.
The weights for the Apple Blossom were released Saturday afternoon. Havre de Grace and Switch are both scheduled to start in the race, while Life At Ten is also entered in an allowance at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The third time in a Grade 1 stakes was the charm for Morning Line, who outfinished 7-5 favorite Apriority to win the 111th running of the $250,000 Carter Handicap on Saturday at Aqueduct by 1 1/2 lengths under John Velazquez.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Toby’s Corner split horses inside the eighth pole and outfinished 20-1 Arthur’s Tale to win the $1,000,000 Wood Memorial by a neck, as 1-9 favorite Uncle Mo faded late to wind up third after setting the pace.
Uncle Mo was a bit slow to load, but broke cleanly and set fractions of 23.49, 47.98 and 1:12.28 under John Velazquez, before weakening in the lane.
Moving the Mister Diz from its scheduled place on Pimlico’s turf course to the main track didn’t bother Ben’s Cat one bit.
Winner of the Mister Diz for Maryland-breds when it was contested at six furlongs on grass last August, Ben’s Cat ($5.40) repeated the feat Saturday, coming from off the pace to take five-furlong stakes on dirt.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - On an historic afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs, two track records were shattered during the ninth edition of Florida Cup Day.
In the $75,000 Sprint, Sneaking Uponyou roared past pacesetter Tommy's Memory in the stretch and drew off to a record-setting seven length win in that six-furlong sprint.
With Huber Villa-Gomez aboard, Sneaking Uponyou covered the six furlongs over a very fast main track in 1:08.69, which shattered the old six-furlong mark of 1:09 flat set by Bootlegger's Pet in 1974.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lilacs and Lace rebounded from a 12-length defeat in a lesser race just two weeks beforehand to stun some of the best 3-year-old fillies in North America with a 48-1 upset Saturday in the 74th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The connections of J.J.’s Lucky Train may not have a Triple Crown horse, but it looks like they’re going to have a lot of fun this spring and summer anyway.
J.J.’s Lucky Train again proved his trainer Bill Anderson’s assertion that he’s a better one-turn horse than two with a hard-charging neck victory over Vengeful Wildcat in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - An outsider, Portside, overhauled Nina Fever in the final strides to notch her first stakes in the $150,000 Star Shoot at Woodbine on Saturday.
Portside ($24.80) broke a bit slowly, and then trailed the six-horse field of 3-year-old fillies through the turn. Nina Fever, the 4-5 favorite trained by Wesley Ward, was pressed by Third Chance and Caribbean Lady through lively fractions of 22.44 and 44.96 seconds in the six-furlong sprint.
