ARCADIA, Calif. - The road to the Kentucky Derby, which took several unforeseen detours on Saturday, had one final surprising turn at Santa Anita when Midnight Interlude, who was coming off a victory against maidens, outran eight other rivals to capture the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby and earn a trip four weeks hence to Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Midnight Interlude, who only beat maidens on March 20 in his third career start, pulled a 13-1 upset in Saturday’s $1 million Santa Anita Derby, catching pacesetter Comma to the Top in the final 50 yards.
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail
Shakenwithanolive had an easy time of it in Saturday's $25,000 Princess of Palms Handicap at Turf Paradise, scoring a facile 7 1/2-length victory.
Owned by Rick Wiest and trained by Robertino Diodoro, the 5-year-old mare was third in this race last year and was making her first start since running sixth in a stakes at Northlands Park last Oct. 9. She had, however, worked strongly to indicate she was ready off the layoff. And ready she was.
ARCADIA, Calif.- Cambina extended her stakes winning streak to three races with a come-from-behind rally in Saturday’s $150,000 Providencia Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.
Cambina ($4.20) was seventh in the field of nine turning for home, but jockey Garrett Gomez weaved the filly through traffic to reach the front well in time, winning by three-quarters of a length over Whisper Louise, a 9-1 shot.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Graham Motion said he and owner Dianne Cotter had never discussed the Kentucky Derby when it came to their 3-year-old Toby's Corner. There will be plenty to talk about now after Toby's Corner upset leading Derby contender and heavily favored Uncle Mo in Saturday's $1,000,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in arguably the biggest upset in this race's history since Secretariat lost 38 years ago.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark.- Pace makes Win Willy’s race, and when his trainer, Mac Robertson, saw the fractional time for the opening half-mile of the Grade 2, $350,000 Oaklawn Handicap, it made his day.
“I really thought when they went in 46 and change, the way the horse had been doing, that we had the winner,” said Robertson.
ARCADIA, Calif.- First Dude, who placed in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes last year, won the second race of his career in an allowance race over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Ridden by Martin Garcia, who collected his third winner of the day, First Dude ($3.60) closed from fourth on the backstretch and made a three-wide move on the turn to reach the front in the stretch. He won by 2 1/2 lengths over Kid Kevlar, finishing in 1:42.48. Coo Cachoo finished third in the field of 10.
Yankee Connection rallied outside rivals through the final turn and edged clear late to score a $26 upset in the $20,000 Dowd Mile Stakes for older horses on Saturday afternoon at Fonner Park.
Trained by Jim Meyaard, Yankee Connection earned his fourth career win from 8 starts while establishing himself as a threat to take this meet's top prize, the $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes on April 30.
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.
