LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - Blues Girl Too, the champion 2-year-old Quarter Horse filly of 2006, won her first stakes of 2007 in Saturday's $320,150 Golden State Derby at Los Alamitos.
Ridden by Saul Ramirez, Jr., Blues Girl Too ($5) finished a nose in front of fastest qualifier Sir Runaway Dash, running 400 yards in 19.45 seconds. Sent off as the favorite, Blues Girl Too led by as much as a half-length but was fully extended to keep the lead. Not a Full Moon finished third in the field of nine.
Laurel Park in Maryland begins its 68-day fall and winter meet on Wednesday facing new competitive threats to the north, where slot machines are fueling big purses at old and new racetracks in Pennsylvania.
That competition, however, has not kept horsemen away from Laurel's opening-day card. Ninety-five horses have been entered for the 10-race card, which includes four turf races. Most are from trainers who are regulars on the Maryland circuit, including King Leatherbury, Scott Lake, Graham Motion, Gary and Dale Capuano, and Ferris Allen.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Tasha's Miracle, the winner of the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes in August, was scratched from Monday's $250,000 Del Mar Debutante after suffering stomach cramps on Saturday, trainer John Sadler said.
She was expected to have been favored in the Grade 1 race for 2-year-old fillies over seven furlongs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Thanks to Mission Approved's upset at 34-1 in Sunday's Saranac Stakes at Saratoga, there is a pick six carryover of $102,600 entering Monday's closing-day card.
Because it is the last day of the meet, the entire pick six pool must be distributed. There were 222 consolation tickets on Sunday, each returning $154.50.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- No one hit the pick six on Sunday at Del Mar, leading to a one-day carryover of $251,737 into Monday's Labor Day card.
There is a 10-race card at Del Mar on Monday, with first post at 2 p.m. Pacific time. The pick six will be on races 5-10. Post time for race 5 is approximately 4 p.m.
It is an extremely challenging sequence, with big fields throughout 10 runners in the fifth race, 11 in the sixth and seventh, 10 in the eighth, 13 in the ninth, and 10 more in the finale.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches worked five furlongs in 1:02.63 Sunday morning over Saratoga's main track, but trainer Todd Pletcher said he still has not decided whether the 3-year-old filly would run in Saturday's Ruffian at Belmont Park or wait for the Gazelle, also at Belmont, on Sept. 15.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Jockey Edgar Prado is expected to miss a minimum of six weeks after suffering a broken right ankle during the gallop out of Saturday's seventh race at Saratoga.
Prado underwent surgery Saturday night at Albany Medical Center, during which Dr. Rick Alfred inserted a couple of screws to stabilize the ankle. Prado was expected to be released from the hospital on Sunday morning, according to his agent Bob Frieze.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Precious Kitten's domination of the female turf division at Del Mar continued on Saturday with a front-running win in the $222,000 Palomar Handicap.
Ridden by Julien Leparoux, Precious Kitten set early fractions of 23.95 and 47.28 seconds, led by a length on the backstretch and was never truly tested. Black Mamba got within three-quarters of a length at the finish, but the win was never in jeopardy.
Precious Kitten ($3) ran 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:40.42. Kris' Sis, close throughout, finished third in the field of nine fillies and mares.
Obi Wan Kenobi returned to form when overpowering six rivals for his first career stakes victory Saturday in the $50,000 Tri-State Handicap at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.
With Brian Hernandez Jr. riding for breeder-owner Arthur Hancock 3rd and trainer Frank Brothers, Obi Wan Kenobi got a great stalking trip from behind a pair of dueling leaders before cruising to a five-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. The winner returned $5.40 as the favorite after finishing in 1:40.35 over a firm course.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Wicked Style is a flashy-looking horse, a rich chestnut with a white face and big white socks. He has heart, too. Passed at the sixteenth pole by Saratoga invader Riley Tucker, Wicked Style battled back while racing along the inside, and won the Arlington-Washington Futurity by a head under Robby Albarado.