The farther he drifted out in the stretch, the more Proceed Bee extended his lead, and at the finish wire he had won the by 2 1/4 lengths despite racing nearer the outside fence than the inner rail.
Maybe wider was better on Saturday at Hawthorne, where several days of rain this week left the local grass course soft, tiring, and slow as could be: Winning time for the 1 1/8 miles was a mind-boggling 1:57, close to 13 seconds off the course record.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The win streak that Magical Fantasy has compiled since last spring was extended to four in Saturday's $300,000 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita.
With the win in the Grade 1 race, Magical Fantasy confirmed her status as the undisputed leading turf female in California this year. Now, she gets to take on some of the world's finest in that division in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf here Nov. 6. The Yellow Ribbon win guarantees a berth in the Filly and Mare Turf as part of the Win and You're In program.
Running Bride ran like a 2-5 shot should winning the $70,000 Miss Indiana for 2-year-old fillies at Hoosier Park on Saturday.
Jockey Rodney Prescott kept Running Bride to the outside in the nine-horse field after breaking from the outside post. The outcome of the race never looked like it was in question as Running Bride drew away from the field to win by 7 1/2 lengths.
Edgewise finished second, 5 3/4 lengths in front of Red Poison in third. Running Bride ran the six furlongs over a sloppy rack in 1:12.80 and returned $2.80 to win
Pashito the Che captured the richest prize of his career Saturday, the for 3-year-old sprinters at Philadelphia Park. The 2-1 favorite, Pashito the Che ran the six furlongs in 1:08.42 on the fast track, holding off Custom for Carlos by a nose.
Just Ben set the early fractions, with Custom for Carlos and Pashito the Che, with Eibar Coa aboard, right behind. Custom for Carlos and Pashito the Che moved as a team midway on the turn, swallowing up Just Ben.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Biofuel ($48.20) circled five wide into contention on the far turn before drawing away for a surprisingly easy victory in the at Woodbine on Saturday.
The Grade 3 Mazarine often helps to determine the Canadian champion 2-year-old filly, but Negligee may have secured that award already after her victory in Saturday's Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland. Biofuel finished fourth behind Negligee in the Aug. 15 Ontario Debutante Stakes and was coming off a seventh-place finish on turf in the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes.
Citrus Kid took the lead at the top of the stretch and widened his advantage all the way to the wire to win the $76,050 Dover Stakes for 2-year-olds by five lengths Saturday at Delaware Park.
With the win in the 1 1/16-mile stakes, Citrus Kid - trained by Gary Contessa and ridden by Abel Castellano Jr. - stayed perfect in two starts at Delaware Park, both on dirt. The lone two-turn winner in the eight-horse Dover field, Citrus Kid improved his record to 2 for 3, his only loss coming in a maiden race on turf at Saratoga.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Meydan Princess looked ready for a big second half of 2009 after winning the Osunitas Handicap at Del Mar in late July. The rest of her Del Mar meeting did not go as well.
With a change in venue and a drop in class, Meydan Princess can rebound in Monday's $60,000 Swingtime Stakes at Santa Anita. The race is restricted to fillies and mares that have not won a stakes worth $60,000 or more to the winner, other than statebred, in 2009. Meydan Princess earned $55,086 in the Osunitas.
In an executive order issued Thursday, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm abolished the Office of Racing Commissioner and placed the regulation of horse racing in the hands of the state's Gaming Control Board. The board's executive director, Richard Kalm, will take over the duties now performed by commissioner Paticia Lockwood on Jan. 17.
The gaming board was established in 1997 to oversee Detroit's three casinos, which were built after voters' approval in 1996.
