ELMONT, N.Y. - As the minority owner of dual classic winner Big Brown, Paul Pompa Jr. has spent much of the year overshadowed by his partners, the International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Stable.
Saturday, in the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park, Pompa got the spotlight all to himself, coincidentally, at the expense of his Big Brown partners.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Indian Blessing, the 7-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park, was scratched from that mile and a sixteenth race and will be kept sprinting for now, trainer Bob Baffert said.
With an eye toward next month's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita, Baffert said he would now consider running Indian Blessing in either the $400,000 Presque Isle Masters at six furlongs on Sept. 13 or the Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom going 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont on Sept. 20.
Jockey Dale Beckner became the first rider to ever win six races on a Presque Isle Downs card Saturday evening.
Beckner won the first of the evening's eight races aboard Mr Zarrow ($27), the second with Meago's Command($4.80), the third on Paving the Way($9.20), the fifth on Princess Lynn($13), the sixth aboard Royal Streak ($10.80), and the nightcap on Takeittopapa($6).
Beckner now has 78 wins for the meet, placing him second in the standings behind Rex Stokes III, who has ridden 84 winners.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Even-money favorite Lee's Sprit rallied strongly from the second flight to win Saturday's $150,000 A. L. "Red" Erwin Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Snug, who helped set the early pace, held on for second, and was followed by Taylortown.
The race was moved from the turf to the main track due to rain earlier in the week from Hurricane Gustav.
First Down Mr Jess ($28.80) dueled for a neck win over Specially Alluring in the Grade 1, $335,200 Sam Houston Futurity for Quarter Horses at Sam Houston Race Park on Friday night.
Gaspar Garcia was aboard for Chrissema Horses and trainer Sleepy Gilbreath.
First Down Mr Jess covered the 400 yards for 2-year-olds in 19.91 seconds. For the win, he earned $134,080.
Akronism overhauled front-runner Marina Ballerina at the sixteenth pole before edging away for a one-length win in the Grade 3, $157,800 Seaway Stakes at Woodbine.
It was the second Woodbine stakes score for the Delaware-based Akronism, who took the Grade 3 Royal North Stakes on turf in her previous start. She was prominent throughout in the Seaway and covered the seven furlongs in 1:21.51 under Eurico Rosa Da Silva.
Miss Charm City stamped herself as a prime contender for next month's Maryland Million Lassie with a dominating 6 3/4-length victory in the $50,000 Gin Talking Stakes at Laurel Park.
A four-length winner at 20-1 in her career debut on Aug. 13, Miss Charm City ($7.60), under Horatio Karamanos, went after front-runner Letmeaskuaquestion after she ran the opening quarter-mile in 23.07 seconds, took command midway on the turn, and increased her advantage through the stretch. She completed 5 1/2 furlongs on a sloppy track in 1:06.87.
Delightful Kiss entered Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Turfway Park Fall Championship without having raced over a synthetic track or farther than 1 1/8 miles.
It didn't show in his performance. Unleashing an eye-catching rally under Calvin Borel on the final turn of the 1 1/2-mile stakes, Delightful Kiss ($19) swooped to the lead and maintained a comfortable advantage in the stretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Star Plus.
Barn 38 at Belmont Park was placed under a precautionary quarantine Saturday after a horse stabled in that barn was euthanized due to a fever that could be associated with equine herpes.
The quarantine will remain in place until the results of blood tests taken on the horse to determine the cause of death come back from a laboratory in Kentucky, most likely on Tuesday.
By BRAD FREE
POMONA, Calif. - Martin Pedroza put on a one-man show Friday at Fairplex Park, where he became the first jockey to win seven races on one card at the Los Angeles County Fair.
The all-time leading rider at Fairplex Park with 526 wins, Pedroza capped his seven-bagger with a nose victory on Trevor's Clever in the $65,000 Jim Kostoff Stakes. It was Pedroza's 58th stakes win at Fairplex Park, four behind all-time leader David Flores.