Keith Desormeaux trains Thoroughbred racehorses. He also handicaps them pretty well.
Saturday, Desormeaux sent out Gangbuster as the heavy favorite in the $52,500 Polar Expedition Stakes at Arlington Park. Thursday, he said he feared Rumor Has It would shake loose on a big early lead and never come back to the field - and that is precisely what happened.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - My Spanx rallied up the rail for a neck win over Busy Mass in the $50,000 Lone Star Oaks at Lone Star Park on Saturday. It was another half-length back in third to Fourstarattraction.
My Spanx ($14) settled in midpack early in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, as Busy Mass, the favorite, coasted on the lead through fractions of 24.19 seconds for the opening quarter, 49.48 for the half-mile, and 1:13.47 for six furlongs. My Spanx, meanwhile, found herself behind a wall of horses into the stretch, but found room to the inside and accelerated.
Izzy Speaking backed up a win in an off-the-turf sprint on June 15 with a one-length, 18-1 upset in Saturday's Da Hoss Stakes over a mile of turf at Colonial Downs.
Izzy Speaking ($38), under Rosemary Homeister Jr., saved ground early, was eased out entering the stretch, and had to steady in traffic near the three-sixteenths pole. He then closed between horses, before pulling clear from Jungle Fighter.
Rahy's Attorney ($6.80) shattered the nine-furlong course record after leading virtually all the way in the at Woodbine.
Rahy's Attorney registered a slow opening quarter of 24.63, and then picked up the pace, setting middle fractions of 47.83 and 1:10.35.
Sterwins, who barely beat Rahy's Attorney May 24 in the Grade 3 Connaught Cup Stakes, began to close in on his arch-rival in the stretch, but Rahy's Attorney held his ground and prevailed by a length. Baletti the 9-5 favorite from New York, rallied belatedly for third in the six-horse field. Marlang was scratched.
MIAMI - Motovato continued his climb to the top of the local handicap division with a popular 5 3/4-length victory over 17-1 longshot Pechito in Saturday's $55,000 Primal Stakes at Calder.
Motovato added the Primal to his victory in the Sumter Stakes earlier in the session. He sandwiched those victories around a troubled second-place finish behind Finallymadeit in the Grade 3 Memorial Day Handicap.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Decelerator emerged narrowly best in a prolonged stretch drive and survived a jockey's objection to allow D. Wayne Lukas to extend his record for wins by a trainer in the Debutante Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Decelerator, ridden by Julien Leparoux, brushed lightly with Wild Forest Cat in the final yards of the , but the Churchill stewards quickly ruled that the incident did not merit a disqualification. The victory was the seventh in the Debutante for Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer whose first such win came with Burnished Bright in 1986.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Mary's Follies, making her turf debut, got a ground-saving ride from Stewart Elliott to score a half-length win in the for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Monmouth Park.
Breaking from the rail, Mary's Follies ($15.40) took the inside route as Platinum Girl and Sandi's Ready set the pace. Turning for home, Elliott angled Mary's Follies around the tiring Platinum Girl before shifting back inside for the run to the wire.
Jockey Shane Sellers, who retired from riding in 2004, plans to make a comeback Thursday night at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La. He is named to ride Ide Ball in the first race, a $25,000 claiming sprint, for trainer Mark Guidry.
Sellers initially retired from riding in 2002 because of recurring pain from a knee injury he had sustained in 2000. He later resumed his career, but formally announced a second retirement in December 2004 while expressing concerns over insurance issues facing jockeys.
Larry Jones was expecting a strong bounce-back effort from Kodiak Kowboy. So were the bettors who pounded the 4-year-old down to 3-10 for the $200,000 Donald LeVine Memorial Handicap Saturday at Philadelphia Park.
Kodiak Kowboy ($2.60) delivered, powering to a four-length victory over Cassoulet that helped wipe away the disappointment of a seventh-place finish in the Churchill Downs Stakes in the slop on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Jones attributed that defeat to a wide trip on the worst part of the track.
Assinibioa Downs management called off the remainder of its eight-race card on Friday night after valet Andy Neufeld suffered a fatal heart attack in the paddock prior to the seventh race.
Neufeld, 44, was married and had two children.
