INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Alphie's Bet broke slowly in Saturday's at Hollywood Park, raced near the back of the field for the first half of the race, and still made winning look easy.
Winning his second stakes of the year, Alphie's Bet pulled away from seven overclassed rivals to win the Snow Chief Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths, a win that led co-owner Peter Johnson to confirm Alphie's Bet as a candidate for the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 5.
Roman Tiger rallied under leading rider Paco Lopez to register a 2 3/4-length victory over the even-money favorite Bim Bam in the $100,000 Island Whirl Thoroughbred Charities, the co-feature on Saturday's closing-day program at Gulfstream Park.
Roman Tiger, a 5-year-old son of Tiger Ridge, was Grade 3 stakes-placed as a 2-year-old but had not won since taking his maiden as a 3-year-old in July 2008. Roman Tiger ($8.60) covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.76 over a firm course.
ALBANY, Calif. - Bold Chieftain unleashed a strong late kick to catch pacesetting Monterey Jazz at the wire, giving the 7-year-old millionaire and Russell Baze, the world's winningest rider, a pair of firsts in the Grade 2, $150,000 on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields.
The victory, the 17th in Bold Chieftain's career and his 13th stakes win, was his first in a graded stakes and marked the first victory in the San Francisco Mile for Baze, who had six runner-up finishes in the race.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The has had several tight finishes through the years and Saturday's running was no exception as Mythical Power edged past Euroears late for a neck win in the Grade 3, $200,000 stakes at Lone Star Park.
"It was exciting," said Bob Baffert, who trains Mythical Power for Peachtree Stable. "At least the fans got to cheer all the way."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fans at Churchill Downs on opening day Saturday gave popular jockey Calvin Borel a high five. Borel won five races, and polished off the day in grand style by guiding Hurricane Ike to a prototypical, rail-skimming ride when capturing the .
Hurricane Ike won by 2 3/4 lengths over Aikenite, with Pleasant Prince another 6 3/4 lengths back in third. Eightyfiveinafifty, the 3-2 favorite, faded to finish fourth in the one-mile race after leading to the top of the stretch.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The worst-kept secret in racing was finally revealed on Saturday afternoon when Jess Jackson, the majority owner of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, confirmed to Churchill Downs officials that Rachel Alexandra would run on Friday in the Grade 2, $400,000 La Troienne Stakes, part of the Kentucky Oaks undercard.
Ben Cecil's full roster of 3-year-old fillies will be on display in the $100,000 Senorita Stakes on turf next weekend. Cecil has three fillies nominated to the Grade 3 race over a mile - Andina, Bab at the Bowster, and Elusive Galaxy - and all are capable of winning.
"I'll probably run all three," he said. "I've got nowhere else to run. I'll try to split them up from there."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It was not until Art Sherman put the saddle on Summer Movie before Friday evening's fifth race at Hollywood Park that he realized how much the colt had grown since his 2-year-old season last year.
"You don't realize it until you see them under tack," he said.
About 15 minutes later, Sherman saw yet another developing side of Summer Movie. Making his first start since late November, Summer Movie won an optional claimer over a mile on turf by three lengths, leaving the trainer delightfully stunned.
Setsuko will run at Churchill Downs this weekend, but not in the race that trainer Richard Mandella would prefer.
With Setsuko too far down the list on graded stakes earnings to be assured a place in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Mandella will use Friday's $175,000 American Turf Stakes over 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds as a consolation.
Second in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3, Setsuko was second in an optional claimer over 1 1/8 miles of turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 27, his only start on the surface.
