FRESNO, Calif. - Unheralded Victory Kid ($17.20) uncorked a strong stretch kick to defeat odds-on Tribesman and win the closing-day Bull Dog Stakes at the Big Fresno Fair on Sunday.
Making only his second appearance in a stakes, Victory Kid stalked pacesetting Candy Pull and Tribesman from midpack in the six-furlong stakes race.
Jockey Mark Pace died Sunday of injuries he suffered during the first race at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw, Okla. He was 58.
Pace was taken to Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw after he was thrown from his mount, Reep What You Sow, who hit the rail on the backstretch during the 5 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race for fillies and mares. Pace was pronounced dead at 12:52 p.m., according to Jerry Green, the chaplain based at Blue Ribbon.
An investigation into the incident is underway, said Tino Rieger, the executive director of the Oklahoma Racing Commission.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trick of the North ($34.40) got up in the last jump Sunday to upset odds-on favorite Teide in the .
With Robert Skelly aboard, Trick of the North trailed the field at the six-furlong mark. He made a strong move around the stretch turn to get within 1 1/2 lengths of Teide at the top of the stretch and then got up in the final stride to win by a head.
Despite sitting well off of moderate fractions of 49.01 seconds and 1:14.20 in the 1 3/8-mile race, Skelly was confident that Trick of the North would be a factor late.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Blue Chagall benefited from a ground-saving trip from jockey Garrett Gomez to win Sunday's $65,980 Lure Stakes at Santa Anita.
Gomez kept Blue Chagall on the inside to early stretch and rallied between pacesetter Yacht Spotter and Gothic Samurai before pulling away to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Blue Chagall ($6.80) ran a mile on turf in 1:34.14.
Lonesome Creek upset 1-5 favorite Got an Itch to capture the $114,862 filly division of the ATBA Fall Sales Stakes at Turf Paradise on Saturday, while R El Jefe is apparently a new horse with blinkers as he made it two in a row with them, taking the $87,782 colts and geldings division.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Favored Hollinger closed strongly from the back of the pack under Tyler Pizarro to notch his first stakes win Sunday in the .
It was the third win in as many starts for Hollinger, who stamped himself as one of the leading 2-year-olds at Woodbine and a prospect for next year's Queen's Plate.
"I thought he ran very professionally today," said Roger Attfield, who trains Hollinger. "I was very impressed with his race, the day he did it. He just keeps getting better and better."
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Get Stormy rated beautifully just off the pace before moving on for his third straight victory Sunday in the over a yielding turf course at Keeneland.
With Javier Castellano aboard for New York-based trainer Tom Bush, Get Stormy returned $13 when finishing 1 1/2 lengths ahead of a rallying Rescue Squad in a field of eight 3-year-olds. Kinsella, the 2-1 favorite, was another length back in third.
Heza Wild Guy overcame a horrendous trip to win the $70,000 To Much Coffee at Hoosier Park on Sunday.
Trained by Bernell Rhone, Heza Wild Guy was kept on the inside with no place to go while boxed in until the stretch. Jockey Tommy Pompell thought he saw an opening but was shut off and had to take up in midstretch. Pompell was finally able to angle Heza Wild Guy out in late stretch and got the 8-year-old gelding up in time to win by three-quarters of a length.
Sahmmy Davis Jr. led in upper stretch but had to settle for second, a head in front of Tenmor in third.
Russell Road and My Sister Margaret, a pair of 3-year-olds stepping up to challenge older horses, emerged as the biggest stars Saturday night on the 23rd annual West Virginia Breeders' Classic program at Charles Town.
Racing beyond his best distance of seven furlongs, Russell Road ($3.80) easily handled his first test at 1 1/8 miles by romping to an eight-length victory in the , giving trainer James W. Casey and jockey Travis Dunkelberger their second wins on the nine-stakes card for West Virginia-breds that was worth $1.8 million.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Thoroughly Holy paid an instant dividend for trainer Gregory DiPrima and owner Angelo DeFilippis, winning the off-the-turf $60,000 P.G. Johnson Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday night at the Meadowlands.
Claimed from Linda Rice for $35,000 late in the Saratoga meet, Thoroughly Holy was totally impressive in her debut for the new barn - running the five furlongs in a track-record 55.39 seconds.
