HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - As Commentator approached the finish line well clear of his five outclassed rivals in Saturday's $200,000 Richter Scale Handicap, track announcer Larry Colmus proclaimed, "Here comes Commentator, the fastest horse in America."
"Not only is that plausible, it has the added advantage of maybe being true," trainer Nick Zito said when asked to respond to Colmus's statement.
NEW ORLEANS - Circular Quay sure likes it way down yonder in Louisiana. Returning to the scene of his lone victory of 2007, Circular Quay on Saturday ended a four-race losing streak by upsetting heavily favored Grasshopper in a thrilling, bizarre running of the Grade 2, $500,000 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds.
The race was thrilling in that Circular Quay and Grasshopper battled the length of the demanding Fair Grounds stretch before Circular Quay won by a neck.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Brave Hearted has been in razor-sharp form since this meeting began in October, posting three wins, two seconds, and a third from six tries against the best older horses on the grounds. Trainer Eulia Bischoff only hopes he can retain that form in Monday's 41st running of the $30,000-added Portland Meadows Mile.
When Proudinsky closed with a rush to finish second by a nose in the 2006 Arlington Classic, he looked like a comer among North American grass horses. He had been imported from Germany for that race, and it seemed obvious he could run, but it has taken many months for Proudinsky to really follow through on that Arlington teaser.
He did so Saturday at Fair Grounds, scoring the best win of his career in the $500,000 Mervin Muniz Handicap.
NEW ORLEANS - Pyro, displaying the handiness and explosiveness that carried him to victory in last month's Risen Star Stakes, again weaved his way through traffic on Saturday at Fair Grounds to capture the Grade 2, $600,000 Louisiana Derby, a race in which his performance was about the only expected result.
Wayzata Bay ($37.40) dueled with stubborn pacesetter Riversrunrylee until deep stretch, then edged clear to post a 1 1/4-length upset in the $65,000 Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Under a solid ride by Luis Gonzalez, who bounced back after being unseated in the stretch run of the fifth race, Wayzata Bay saved ground much of the way as Riversrunrylee set a solid pace while well removed from the inner rail. Wayzata Bay challenged the leader from the inside in the stretch, then slowly took control.
Armonk easily handled her first trip out of New York and her initial experience racing over a sloppy track as she cruised to a 2 1/2-length victory in the $52,800 Wide Country Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Laurel Park.
A daughter of Mizzen Mast trained by Kiaran McLaughlin for owner Jeff Singer, Armonk ($4.20) had been Grade 2-placed last fall and was coming off a near-miss in last month's Dearly Precious at Aqueduct.
Rather than dueling for the lead, as she did last time, jockey Julian Pimentel, allowed Armonk to sit off the pace set by 9-1 longshot Kosmo's Buddy.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. -
Visionaire, under Jose Lezcano, got up in the final stride to nip Texas Wildcatter by a nose. It was 7 3/4 lengths back to Larry's Revenge in a race that may have dashed the Kentucky Derby dreams of several 3-year-olds. Saratoga Russell, the 8-5 favorite, finished eighth of nine, while Giant Moon, the previously undefeated New York-bred colt, was last.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The work tabs were limited around south Florida on Saturday due to heavy, early morning rains. One of the few exceptions was Better Than Bonds, who went an easy five furlongs in 1:03 over a muddy strip at Palm Meadows in preparation for Saturday's Grade 3 Skip Away Handicap at Gulfstream Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The distance of Saturday's $100,000 The Very One Handicap at Gulfstream Park has been changed from 1 3/8 miles to 1 1/8 miles due to heavy rains which struck the area earlier Saturday morning. According to track officials, the switch was made to prevent the race from starting on the backstretch and thus having the horses passing over the same spot on the yielding course twice during the running of the race.
