GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The quick Gold Coyote and his rider, Bobby Walker Jr., utilized a different game plan on Saturday to win the $50,000 Express at Lone Star Park. Instead of being part of the pace, Gold Coyote settled in third off dueling leaders Orphan Brigade and Wind Water, then overtook them in the stretch for a 1 1/4-length win.
"I didn't want to die in a speed duel," Walker said. "My horse is capable of doing that. Things turned out well."
Slides Choice was kept back off the early pace in the $50,000 Tomboy at River Downs before rallying on the far turn and drawing clear in upper stretch to win by 3 3/4 lengths. Trained by Tim Hamm, Slides Choice has now won all three of her starts this season. A 3-year-old daughter of Devil His Due, Slides Choice was the Ohio 2-year-old champion in 2008. Cesar Camaque piloted Slides Choice.
Awesome Rhythm, with Jim McAleney riding, wraps up his 2 1/4-length victory in the Marine at Woodbine.
On the Menu ($3.60) outfought Bold Union and Mary's Follies in the stretch to earn her first stakes victory in the $65,000 Just Smashing at Monmouth Park.
Ridden for the first time by Eddie Castro, On the Menu sat just off a three-way early battle for the lead, went three wide into the stretch to challenge, overtook Bold Union in deep stretch, then held off 12-1 shot Mary's Follies by a neck in the six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies.
Jockey Francisco Torres swept both stakes at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, when he guided Silent Pipe to a front-running win in the $50,000 Free Spirit s Joy, and Lightlightlight to a half-length score in the $50,000 Fantasia. Both races were for 3-year-olds at six furlongs, and both were restricted to horses bred in Louisiana.
Giving her backers a few anxious moments - about 95 seconds' worth - Seattle Smooth was along in the nick of time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Shuvee Handicap at Belmont Park.
As the only graded stakes winner on dirt in the field of six fillies and mares, Seattle Smooth ($2.50) was dispatched as the 1-4 favorite under Ramon Dominguez. After breaking in good order, she was last of a tightly bunched group early as Granted Tiger set fractions of 23.30 seconds, 45.89, and 1:10.57 while pressed by longshots Are We Dreamin and Color Me Up.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the days leading into the Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday, trainer Ian Wilkes kept teasing with his colleague Steve Margolis.
And after the Wilkes-trained Capt. Candyman Can earned a hard-fought victory over Cash Refund, a previously unbeaten gelding trained by Margolis, Wilkes had this quip: "When I told them to bring it on, I didn't mean bring it on that much."
BALTIMORE Trainer Donald Barr didn't like the way things started for his 5-year-old gelding Ravalo in the $100,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap, but he was certainly pleased with how they finished in Saturday's Grade 3 sprint stakes at Pimlico.
Ravalo, under John Velazquez, overcame a stumble at the start and then withstood a stretch-long battle with Silver Edition to win the Maryland Sprint Handicap by a head. It was two lengths back to Celtic Innis in third.
BALTIMORE Affirmatif did not settle properly. He did not go on with it immediately when he made the lead. But his raw talent won out on Saturday at Pimlico in the $50,000 Woodlawn Stakes, and the promise he showed has his trainer, Todd Pletcher, eager to see him mature.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Awesome Rhythm overcame a sleepy pace three weeks ago to take the Wando Stakes with an impressive wide rally. He had slightly faster fractions to run at on Saturday at Woodbine in the $150,400 Marine Stakes, and prevailed once again under Jim McAleney.
