Saucey Evening clinched the title of champion 2-year-old California-bred filly of 2008 with a come-from-behind victory in the fillies division of the $125,000 California Breeders' Champion Stakes at Santa Anita.
Saucey Evening ($4) rallied wide through the final quarter-mile to win the seven-furlong race by 2 1/2 lengths over Spanish Ice. Ridden by Garrett Gomez, Saucey Evening was timed in 1:21.84. Saucey Evening was last until Gomez urged her closer to the front on the final turn.
Officer Rocket returned immediate dividends to owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey when he won first off the claim in the $50,000 Holiday Cheer Stakes at Turfway Park.
Far back for most of the six furlongs of the Holiday Cheer, Officer Rocket ($11.60) suddenly came alive for the final quarter-mile. In the shadow of the wire, his rail rally carried him past a pair of dueling front-runners, Rouse the Cat and Golden Country. On the wire, he had a length on the 2-1 favorite, Rouse the Cat, who had a neck on Golden Country.
Heavily favored Peace Town ($3.20) successfully stretched out beyond 6 1/2 furlongs for the first time to win the $50,000 Maryland Juvenile Championship for statebred 2-year-olds on closing day for 2008 at Laurel Park.
Ridden by Julian Pimentel for Trombetta, Peace Town sat in second behind a modest pace of 48.08 seconds for the first half-mile set by Blueberry Start, moved to the front after passing the three-eighths pole, and withstood a bid by In the Juice to prevail by a half-length.
Trainer Michael Trombetta won juvenile stakes Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs and Laurel Park, scoring with Top Seed in the Inaugural and Peace Town in the Maryland Juvenile Championship.
At Tampa Bay, heavily favored Top Seed drove to the lead inside the final furlong and had enough left to hold back a furious late charge from R Brown Sugar for a one-length victory in the $65,000 Inaugural Stakes before 4,839 fans.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Todd Beattie has always maintained that his speedy sprinter Fabulous Strike could rate. In Saturday's Grade 3 Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct, Beattie's theory was proven correct.
Outsprinted early by True Quality, Fabulous Strike came from off the pace to run down True Quality and win the $103,100 Gravesend by 1 3/4 lengths. It was 3 1/2 lengths back to Good Card in third. Lucky Island finished last.
NEW ORLEANS - When Dancin Perfect came to trainer Mike Burgess, he had high hopes, but she was small horse. So he gave her some time to grow up, and that time paid off with a win in her debut.
When she runs in Monday's $44,000 ninth race at Fair Grounds, she'll be the only filly in the field who is a perfect 1 for 1. But she'll meet seven other 2-year-old fillies, a few with great promise, in the first-level optional claiming race at about a mile on the turf.
ARCADIA, Calif. - In January, Bob Black Jack set a six-furlong world record of 1:06.53 in the Sunshine Millions Dash. On Friday, he won his first Grade 1 in the $250,000 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.
In 2009, trainer Jim Kasparoff is ready to take on the world with Bob Black Jack.
Pending the results of a scheduled start in the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Dash on Jan. 24, Kasparoff hopes to take Bob Black Jack to Dubai for the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters on March 28.
ARCADIA, Calif. Santa Anita opened its winter-spring meeting on Friday with an increase in ontrack attendance but a slight drop in handle from last year.
On a clear day with temperatures in the 50s cold for Southern California the nine-race program drew a crowd of 33,112, a gain of 9.8 percent over the 2007 opening-day audience of 30,156. By comparison, the 2006 meeting opened with an ontrack crowd of 32,931.
At an age when most mares have already been sent to the breeding shed, Afleet Angel is hitting her peak.
The 8-year-old Afleet Angel, a two-time stakes winner while racing on synthetic surfaces out of town, returns to her home track of Mountaineer Racetrack for Tuesday nights $75,000 New Years Eve Stakes.
The six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares drew a full field of 12, with four more on the also-eligible list.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Every year you can be sure of one thing: There will be new faces on the scene at Tampa Bay Downs. The lure of warm weather and a safe racing strip bring trainers and jockeys from all over the country. And every year there will be tales of those who came with high hopes only to leave town long before the meeting is done when their stables and runners didn't live up to expectations.
