HOUSTON - There was one constant in the winner's circle during the $500,000 Texas Champions Day program Saturday night at Sam Houston Race Park: trainer Bret Calhoun. He sent out the winners of four of the eight stakes that made up the track's richest program.
"It was a very, very good night," said Calhoun. "The horses stepped up for us tonight."
VINTON, La. - Rule will be freshened in Florida following his gutsy win Friday night in the and is expected to return to action in either February or March, said his trainer, Todd Pletcher. For the victory, Rule picked up $450,000 in graded earnings, which all but ensures him a spot in the starting gate for next year's Kentucky Derby.
Salty Fries ($7.80) turned the tables on Antares World, who had just defeated her in an allowance race, rallying along the rail to capture the $64,400 Corte Madera Stakes by a head at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.
The two had just met in a Nov. 18 one-mile race, with Antares World winning by a half-length after a stretch-long duel that included contact between the two several times.
There were no similar incidents in the Corte Madera, also run at one mile.
PHOENIX - Southern California raider Miss McCall never had an anxious moment as the 3-year-old filly dominated Saturday's $50,000 City of Phoenix Handicap at Turf Paradise.
Owned by Scott Anastasi, Jimmy Ukegawa and Mike Mitchell, and trained by Mitchell, Miss McCall bounced out of the gate to a clear early lead in the six-furlong event for fillies and mares and extended her margin. She was five lengths clear in midstretch and was then geared down by jockey Glenn Corbett to win easily by 4 3/4 lengths.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Zardana's first start on a synthetic track in 22 months produced a milestone victory in Saturday's at Hollywood Park.
Zardana won the Grade 2 race by 1 1/4 lengths over Silver Swallow, the first graded stakes victory of her 17-race career. Zardana had won three minor stakes in Brazil and California before Saturday's race, her sixth start in a graded stakes. She was fourth in the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap on a synthetic track in February 2008 when trained by Ron McAnally.
STICKNEY, Ill. - Sweet Lemon Chello started her racing career in a short 4 1/2-furlong sprint. Her lone win had come at six furlongs, and until Saturday, Sweet Lemon Chello never had raced around two turns. But Sweet Lemon Chello's sire is Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, and she had no problem seeing out the 1 1/16-mile Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante, winning the $100,600 race for Illinois-bred 2-year-old fillies by 8 1/2 lengths.
Exotic Bloom rallied in the final furlong to spoil the return of a former Brazilian champion, Celtic Princess, posting a neck victory Saturday in the $50,000 My Charmer Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
With Miguel Mena riding for trainer Fred Seitz, Exotic Bloom split horses inside the furlong pole after tracking the pace from a few lengths behind. Celtic Princess, making her first start in more than two years after being the top 2-year-old filly in Brazil in 2006-07, had wrested command with a sustained rail run, but Exotic Bloom nailed her in the final yards.
Akilina must be a traveling fool. She raced Nov. 18 at Belmont, was shortly thereafter shipped to trainer Christophe Clement's winter base in south Florida, and then came on to New Orleans late this week to start Saturday in the .
Sign her up for a FedEx route - Akilina can ship.
Despite making a couple of mistakes in the stretch, Akilina ran to her short price and won the Pago Hop by a head. She paid just $4.20 to win, and was timed in 1:40.03 for one mile on a soft turf course.
Sterling Vow, who hadn't crossed the finish line first all year, outfinished 7-10 favorite Fascinatin' Rhythm to upset Saturday's $50,000 Squan Song at Laurel Park. Sterling Vow paid $74.80 in defeating 10 other Maryland-bred fillies and mares in the seven-furlong stakes, run over a sloppy track that had been sealed.
Sterling Vow, ridden by Alberto Delgado, finished three-quarters of a length in front of Fascinatin' Rhythm, with Heaven's Voice a neck back in third and Lucky You another head back in fourth. She covered the seven furlongs in 1:25.54.
