Ben’s Cat, making the difficult stretch out from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, outdueled Baltimore Bob in a stretch-long battle to remain undefeated in Saturday’s $50,000 Find Handicap at Laurel Park.
A 4-year-old gelding who did not make his career debut until this past May, Ben’s Cat ($3.60) held off Baltimore Bob by a nose to improve to 7 for 7.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Grand Style outlasted a host of 2-year-old fillies Saturday at Woodbine to capture the 65th running of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes, which was essentially a $252,000 maiden race.
There were only two winners in the 10-horse field of Canadian-breds, and they both finished up the track in the mile and a sixteenth route. Grand Style came wide from the back of the first flight, and got home on top by a length and a half, in a time of 1:46.31.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Teaks North made a smooth transition back to dirt, winning the $70,000 Big Brown Stakes for 3-year-olds by two lengths over Cactus Charlie on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
A perfect ground-saving ride by Jose Valdivia Jr. didn’t hurt either.
Teaks North was back on the main track after three productive efforts on grass. He recorded a pair of wins, including Monmouth’s Restoration Stakes, before heading to Belmont Park and a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Jamaica Handicap.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Ramon Dominguez and Our Khrysty came into the Belmont Park stretch looking as though they were going to turn Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap into a laugher.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Cost of Freedom was kept at Hollywood Park for Saturday’s $100,000 California Cup Sprint instead of being sent to Churchill Downs for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint next weekend.
After watching Cost of Freedom win by 6 1/4 lengths, owner Gary Barber wished he had tried both.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, Cost of Freedom ($3.40) won the Cal Cup Sprint with little difficulty, setting a modest pace of 22.24 and 45.05 seconds, and finishing in the fastest six furlongs of the meeting – 1:08.58.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Blind Luck worked five furlongs in a minute at Hollywood Park on Saturday and it then seemed to take exercise rider Marco Ramirez another five furlongs to pull her up.
The nation’s leading 3-year-old filly, Blind Luck is bound for Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs with recent workouts that have left trainer Jerry Hollendorfer more than satisfied.
“We’ve been blessed that she’s like that,” Hollendorfer said. “She finished really well.”
Hollendorfer timed Blind Luck in 1:00.66, galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.25.
By David GreningTen years after starting his only horse in the Breeders’ Cup series, trainer Tony Dutrow will return this week with three fillies who figure quite prominently in their respective races.
On Saturday at Delaware Park, Dutrow put the trio of Havre de Grace, Rightly So, and Joyful Victory through their final breezes for the Ladies’ Classic, Filly and Mare Sprint, and Juvenile Fillies, respectively. Afterwards, Dutrow expressed optimism that all three will run at least as well as Burning Roma did when he was beaten just two lengths in the 2000 Juvenile at Churchill.
Big Drama had the track clockers at Calder raving after working four furlongs in 46.40 seconds and galloping out five-eighths in 58.40 over his home course with jockey Eibar Coa aboard on Saturday in his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“He was unbelievable,” said Calder clocker Joe Savage. “The track was not that fast, there was a pretty strong headwind blowing up the stretch and he just did it easily.”
Both Coa and trainer David Fawkes were equally pleased with the move.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Chamberlain Bridge, one of the favorites for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, popped an abscess in his right front hoof Friday and had to miss a scheduled workout this weekend, although trainer Bret Calhoun is still optimistic the millionaire gelding can make the race Saturday.