OCEANPORT, N.J. Discreetly Mine rallied to beat Out of Respect by 1 1/4 lengths on Sunday in the for 3-year-old sprinters at Monmouth Park.
The victory capped an interesting progression mapped out for Discreetly Mine by trainer Todd Pletcher. He stretched out Discreetly Mine from six furlongs in January to the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May. During the four-race stretch, Discreetly Mine captured the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds at 1 1/16 miles.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Nick Canani, the leading trainer at Arlington Park entering Sunday's racing action, has been fined $1,000 and handed a 15-day suspension by the Arlington stewards for a positive drug test. Copper Forest, winner of the second race here on May 6, tested positive for etodolac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Copper Forest was disqualified from all purse money and declared unplaced in the race.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- Spice Route, making his first start in more than six months for trainer Roger Attfield, rallied strongly through the stretch for a convincing 3 3/4-length victory in Sunday's at Woodbine.
Jockey Mike Smith got the 6-year-old Spice Route to relax off the pace in the 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward, and once he pulled the trigger there was no doubt as to the outcome.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- Signature Red ($6.50) wore down pacemaker Heros Reward in the stretch to take the at Woodbine Sunday.
Maryland shipper Heros Reward, the 2008 Highlander winner, set fractions of 22.50 and 44.94 in the six-furlong turf sprint, with Signature Red in close proximity. Signature Red drew alongside Heros Reward at the top of the stretch, and they duked it out until the final strides before Signature Red prevailed by a neck in 1:08.17.
OPELOUSAS, La. Reigning Louisiana-bred horse of the year Star Guitar lived up to his billing Saturday night at Evangeline Downs, successfully defending his title in the $100,000 Louisiana Showcase Classic. Star Guitar, trained by Al Stall Jr., won his sixth straight race against statebreds and his third in as many starts at Evangeline.
The Classic was one of 10 stakes races for statebreds on the meeting's biggest night.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Canterbury Park jockey Scott Stevens, thrown to the ground when his mount broke a leg during the sixth race Friday night, is still in the intensive care unit at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, Minn., but his condition has been upgraded from critical to stable condition.
His agent, Chad Anderson, said Sunday that Stevens will need at least six months to recover from his injuries.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Upperline made a favorable impression as a 2-year-old last summer at Arlington. She was even better Saturday evening, winning the by almost five lengths, and giving trainer Michael Stidham his fourth stakes win of an Arlington season not even at the halfway mark.
Frisky Thunder s fondness for the turf course at Colonial Downs turned out to be more important than Storm Play s apparent class edge in Saturday s $50,000 Daniel Van Clief Stakes.
The 6-year-old Frisky Thunder, who has now been first or second in 8 of 10 lifetime starts over the grass at Colonial, rallied from sixth to score a one-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Van Clief.
Earlier at the meet, Frisky Thunder had been second sprinting and third against open stakes company going a mile.