La Sorpresa handed Cali Baby her first defeat since August on Saturday, when she successfully defended her title in the $100,000 Sydney Valentini Handicap at Sunland Park. La Sorpresa won by 3 3/4 lengths over Desert Tap, while Cali Baby finished another neck back in third as both the odds-on favorite and the 125-pound highweight.

NEW ORLEANS – Sometimes fast horses run better in longer races. Mucho Macho Man is a fast horse, no doubt. In his career debut he ran an opening quarter-mile in 21 seconds and change. But Mucho Macho Man, at this point, appears to be no sprinter. Stretched back out to two turns Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, Mucho Macho Man won for the second time in his career, beating Santiva by 1 1/2 lengths.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Absinthe Minded indicated her intent to be a player in the filly and mare ranks this year at Oaklawn Park, when she won her second straight race at the meet in the $100,000 Bayakoa on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile stakes is one of the local preps leading up to the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 15.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -  Trainer Michelle Nihei had originally contemplated kicking off Prince Will I Am’s 2011 campaign in a Grade 1 race such as the Donn or Gulfstream Park Handicap. Instead she opted for the more conservative route, a decision that paid quick dividends after Prince Will I Am rallied to a three-quarter length victory over Rahy’s Attorney in the  Grade 3, $150,000 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher continued his domination of the older filly and mare handicap division at Gulfstream Park this winter after sending Awesome Maria out to a decisive 4 3/4-length victory over the 8-5 favorite, Amen Hallelujah, in Saturday's $100,000 Sabin.

Six days earlier, Pletcher won Hurricane Bertie in similarly dominant fashion with Hilda's Passion. Both the one-mile Sabin and 6 1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie are Grade 3 events.

Expansion, with Gerard Melancon up, emerged from out of nowhere to pull a 32-1 upset in a three-horse photo Saturday in the 24th running of the Grade 3, $125,000 Fair Grounds Handicap in New Orleans.

Mucho Macho Man and jockey Rajiv Maragh were prominent from the start Saturday before turning back all comers to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Based in south Florida with trainer Kathy Ritvo, Mucho Macho Man drew clear leaving the eighth pole to post a clear-cut score over Santiva. Rogue Romance shook loose late to finish a creditable third in the 1 1/16-mile race, while Machen settled for fourth in the field of 10 3-year-olds.

NEW ORLEANS - There's nothing flashy about Demarcation, but in a 37-start career, the 7-year-old gelding has banged out 10 wins for earnings of more than $625,000, and he rallied from last on Saturday to capture the Grade 3, $121,250 Mineshaft Handicap by a head over favored Mission Impazible.

"He's a sound horse, easy to gallop, easy to get along with in the barn," said winning trainer Paul McGee, who has sent Demarcation out to successful tilts on dry dirt, wet dirt, synthetic, and turf.

Prince Will I Am gave further proof of his versatility when he switched from dirt to turf to win his second consecutive graded stakes in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Mac Diarmida a Gulfstream Park.

NEW ORLEANS – Kathmanblu solidified her position near the top – if not atop – the 3-year-old filly division with a workmanlike 1 1/4-length win in the Grade 3, $147,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds.