ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Smokey Fire and Field Commission, two of the top sprinters at Woodbine, may clash over seven furlongs Wednesday night in the $100,000 Mt. Sassafras Stakes. There is a chance Field Commission could scratch in favor of Saturday’s $500,000 Nearctic Stakes.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Quick Enough may have had the toughest trip of the Del Mar meeting this summer.
In the Green Flash Handicap over five furlongs on turf against seven rivals, he was blocked in the stretch and still finished in a dead heat for second, a nose behind California Flag.
Quick Enough faces another bulky field in Monday’s $100,000 Morvich Handicap at Hollywood Park. This time, the stakes are higher. A win could lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6.
OKLAHOMA CITY - No Such Word overwhelmed the competition in the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, when she circled the field en route to a 6 1/2-length win. It was the second win in the race for the husband and wife training team of Larry and Cindy Jones, who last year sent Payton d’Oro to town.
No Such Word, meanwhile, won her third stakes from her last four starts on Sunday, behind the Go for Wand at Delaware Park in June and the Monmouth Park Oaks in August.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Pleasant Prince might have punched his ticket to next month’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Sunday, when he swept to a four-length win in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.
“That’s probably where we’re headed,” said Wesley Ward, who trains Pleasant Prince for Ken and Sarah Ramsey.
The undefeated Bond James Bond left little doubt that he is the best 2-year-old in Alberta with a 2 1/4-length win in the $50,000 Canadian Juvenile at Northlands Park on Sunday.
With Rico Walcott aboard, Bond James Bond was in the middle of a three-horse battle for six furlongs in the 1 1/16-mile-race before he started to draw clear at the quarter pole. He took a three-length lead into the stretch and was under steady urging to hold off a late run by longshot Freedoms Traveller. Shackles N Chains finished third in the 10-horse field.
FRESNO, Calif. – Holding Her Ground broke sharply and was never seriously challenged as she scored an easy four-length victory in the $32,500 Harvest Stakes at the Big Fresno Fair on Sunday.
Holding Her Ground ($10.40) broke quickest and bolted to a 2 1/2-length advantage with a 22.68-second opening quarter in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares. Red White and Brew crept within a length of Holding Her Ground at the quarter pole, but jockey Ricky Frazier pulled away through the lane.
Senor Rojo left the starting gate from the rail and he stayed there the whole way to win the Grade 3, $100,000 BC Premier's Stakes at Hastings on Sunday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Burg Berg won the first stakes of her career in Sunday’s $59,150 Swingtime Stakes at Hollywood Park’s Oak Tree meet despite appearing beaten in early stretch.
Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Burg Berg ($4) stalked pacesetter Briecat for the first six furlongs, but was joined in pursuit of the leader by Oui Say Oui and Ruffled Feathers at the top of the stretch. Burg Berg trailed Briecat by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining when she was making minimal progress on closing the margin.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Acoma had done a lot of good things as a 3- and 4-year-old, but she had been found a bit lacking this year. Considering that Acoma was winless and largely disappointing in three starts in 2010, the vast majority of Keeneland fans found her worth dismissing – much to their chagrin, as the 5-year-old mare came bounding home a 23-1 winner Sunday under Alan Garcia in the 55th running of the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rogue Romance rallied from last to show a welcome new dimension and earn a trip to the Breeders’ Cup with a clear-cut victory Sunday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland.