It was a muddy mess at Fair Grounds Race Course - and that was just fine with Power Surge. Power Surge continued his run of solid wet-track performances with a three-quarters of a length victory over defending champ Mr. Porter in the on Saturday in New Orleans.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Northern Belle makes herself at home wherever she goes, but she looks like she might have a special affinity for Oaklawn Park. She won her first stakes here Saturday, when she edged past favorite One Smokin' Lady late in the $50,000 American Beauty.
It was the first Oaklawn start for Northern Belle, who earlier in her career had placed in stakes at Philadelphia Park and Saratoga and won races at Fair Grounds, Delaware Park and Keeneland.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A reduction in distance and an easier field gave Amen Hallelujah her first stakes win in Saturday's at Santa Anita. The victory in the Grade 3 race also was the first in a graded stakes at Santa Anita for jockey Chantal Sutherland.
Sutherland gave Amen Hallelujah an ideal ride in the seven-furlong race. Fourth in a field of six 3-year-old fillies for the first half-mile, Amen Hallelujah ($8.40) closed steadily on the outside to win by three-quarters of a length over Franny Freud.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - How tough was the field for Saturday's at Gulfstream Park? Tough enough that Quiet Harbor entered the race having won four in a row, including the Grade 3 Violet in her 2009 finale, and still went postward at odds of 18-1.
Now, make that five in a row.
Quiet Harbor benefitted from a perfect trip under jockey Eddie Castro, splitting horses near the inside turning for home before wearing down pacesetter Romacaca and outfinishing Lady Shakespeare to register a head victory in the filly and mare turf fixture.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Uptowncharlybrown pulled away through the final furlong of the $65,000 Pasco Stakes on Saturday to post an authoritative six-length victory and remain undefeated in two career starts.
Well placed outside under Daniel Centeno through a half-mile of 45.62 seconds, Uptowncharlybrown rallied outside the leaders into the stretch, shook off leader Black Diamond Cat leaving the furlong marker, and motored away under brisk handling. Uptowncharlybrown galloped out well when mildly encouraged for a sixteenth following the finish.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Conveyance had to work harder than expected, but still was able to remain unbeaten when stretching out around two turns for the first time in the for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Santa Anita.
The San Rafael was the first two-turn graded stakes of the meet for Kentucky Derby prospects.
Trainer Christophe Clement was sitting on a plane waiting to take off to Los Angeles for Monday night's Eclipse Awards when the field went to post for Saturday's at Gulfstream Park. But it was Clement's Nordic Truce who really did some flying, finishing full to capture his stakes debut by a neck over two-time stakes winner Bim Bam.
Trainer Todd Pletcher may have lost his two top Aqueduct inner-track loving mares to retirement, but at least he still has the inner-track specialist Understatement in the barn.
Understatement made it 3 for 3 over the inner track, with a ridiculously easy 4 1/2-length front-running victory in Saturday's . His entrymate, Well Positioned - both are owned by Paul Pompa Jr. - finished second, 13 1/2 lengths clear of Storm Play, also trained by Pletcher. Ah Day, More Than a Reason, and Bunker Hill completed the order of finish.
NEW ORLEANS - Neither power failure nor steady rain could derail Fair Grounds as it brought night racing back to New Orleans on Friday, the first of three scheduled Friday night cards in what the track is calling the Starlight Racing Series.
The stars were not visible through the clouds, and a power failure that hit parts of the city from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. pushed the first post back one hour to 6 p.m., but that didn't stop a younger, bigger-than-usual crowd from attending the nine-race card.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Training will not be conducted on the main track at Santa Anita on Monday morning in anticipation of a series of rain storms that is expected to last through the week.
There is concern among track officials that the storms could lead to further disruption of training and possibly to the racing schedule later in the week.