Sun, 12/19/2010 - 17:36

Poor track conditions force Hollywood to cancel Sunday card after two races

BENOIT PHOTO
It was wet and cold late during Saturday's card when Comma to the Top rolled home in the CashCall Futurity. Track conditions worsened Sunday, when Hollywood Park canceled after running just two races.

               

 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The Sunday program at Hollywood Park was canceled following the second race after jockeys deemed the course unsafe because of persistent rain through the day.

Jockey Mike Smith, who was among a group of riders who inspected the course after the second race, said there was an area on the backstretch, where the chute joined the main track at the six-furlong pole, concerned the riders.

“Coming out of the chute, it was just too deep,” Smith said.

Sun, 12/19/2010 - 07:51

Princess Cecilia stays perfect with neck victory in Eleanor Casey

The Pennsylvania-based filly Princess Cecilia kept her perfect record intact when she rallied in the stretch to get up by a neck over Golden Debutante in Saturday night’s $51,150 Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes at Charles Town.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 21:03

Comma to the Top gets refitted for lost shoe, cruises in CashCall Futurity

BENOIT PHOTO
Comma to the Top, under Corey Nakatani, wins his fifth straight race in the CashCall Futurity.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Well, that was worth the wait.

Comma to the Top, who delayed the start of the CashCall Futurity because of a protracted shoe repair, won the Grade 1, $750,000 race on Saturday at Hollywood Park to record his fifth straight victory and move to the top of the West Coast’s 2-year-old division.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 19:28

Due Date improves with age, rallies to take Bonapaw

Lou Hodges Jr.
Due Date, ridden by Tony Farina, leads a one-two finish for trainer Steve Margolis in the Bonapaw.

The $60,000 Bonapaw Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds marked Due Date’s 29th trip to the post, and less than two weeks from his 6th birthday, Due Date has hit peak form. After a strong fall campaign in Kentucky, Due Date crushed a decent field in the Bonapaw, passing all nine of his rivals, including favored Central City, in the final three furlongs.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 18:53

Speed carries All Saint to 12-1 upset in Hank Mills Handicap

All Saint used his speed to upset Saturday’s $25,000 Hank Mills Sr. Handicap at Turf Paradise.

All Saint went right out to duel for the lead in the mile main-track event for 3-year-olds and up, was able to establish a clear lead going into the backstretch, and never really had a nervous moment thereafter, staying clear all the way home under Michael Iammarino to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 18:13

Catsalot proves uncatchable in Pacific Heights

Marcel Langevin/Vassar Photography
Jockey Julien Couton wins the stakes feature at Golden Gate Fields for the second week in a row, guiding Catsalot to victory in the Pacific Heights.

ALBANY, Calif. – Jockey Julien Couton used the same winning formula for the second week in a row, establishing an insurmountable early lead with pedestrian fractions as he guided Catsalot to victory in the $75,600 Pacific Heights Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 17:43

Prince Will I Am wins off-the-turf McKnight Handicap

Jim Lisa Photos
Prince will I Am cruises home over a sloppy Calder track in the McKnight Handicap.

MIAMI - Heavy rains earlier in the day might have put a damper on Saturday’s $150,000 W.L. McKnight Handicap at Calder but not on trainer Michelle Nihei’s enthusiasm or love for her star 3-year-old Prince Will I Am. The versatile Prince Will I Am became a graded stakes winner on dirt when rallying to a popular 2 1/2-length victory over Free Fighter and three other rivals in the 1 1/2-mile McKnight, which was switched from the turf to a sloppy main track earlier in the day.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 17:35

Timeless Fashion noses out Stately Victor in Prairie Bayou

Jason Stewart/Patrick Lang Photography
Timeless Fashion, in between runner-up Stately Victor on the outside and Ordination on the rail, prevails in a three-horse photo in the Prairie Bayou.

In a battle of skilled synthetic runners, multiple stakes winner Timeless Fashion repelled an early stretch bid from Ordination, and after edging away from that rival in the final sixteenth of a mile, lasted by a scant nose over an onrushing Stately Victor in Saturday’s $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 16:46

Calibrachoa pays quick return for Repole, Pletcher in Gravesend

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Calibrachoa, going first time off a claim by Repole Stable and Todd Pletcher, ran down pacesetting entrymate Driven by Success in deep stretch to win Saturday’s 52nd running of the $65,000 Gravesend Stakes.

Claimed out of a win for $40,000 on Nov. 18, Calibrachoa ($5) earned back $39,000 in one fell swoop after rallying wide under David Cohen to catch Driven by Success and edge clear late by a length and a half.

Sat, 12/18/2010 - 16:26

Concealed Identity gives Gaudet surprise victory in Maryland Juvenile Championship

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
J.D. Acosta guides Concealed Idenity to a 7-1 upset in the Maryland Juvenile Championship.

Concealed Identity ended a long stakes drought for trainer Eddie Gaudet when he emerged from a three-way stretch battle to upset the Maryland Juvenile Championship, the closing-day feature at Laurel Park.

Gaudet, 80, who won this stakes 23 years ago with Trap Line, had gone 0 for 10 in stakes since taking the Blue Hen at Delaware Park in October 2007.

Concealed Identity ($17.40), the third choice in a field of five Maryland-bred 2-year-old colts and geldings, was making his first start since finishing fifth going a mile on Oct. 29.