Katerbug made the winning move by exploding from a tight group of 3-year-old fillies in the upper stretch en route to her first stakes victory Saturday in the $50,000 Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.
Sent away a lukewarm favorite in a field of 12, Katerbug returned $7.60 after finishing a length clear of Bel Air Beauty in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. Si Si Mon Amie, who set most of the pace, finished third.
Lewis Michael relished the extra ground when lengthening his stride in an easy score Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill.
With E.T. Baird riding for owner Frank Calabrese and trainer Wayne Catalano, Lewis Michael disputed much of the pace inside of longshot Throng in the 1 3/16-mile Washington Park 'Cap, then drew off with ease when prevailing by 4 3/4 lengths over Mustanfar. The winner returned $3.80 as the favorite in a field of seven older horses after finishing in 1:55.17 on Polytrack.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- It has taken several months, but Passified is finally learning to sit and finish, and those tactics paid dividends again on Saturday at Del Mar when she closed strongly to run down pacesetting Fleet Caroline and capture the Grade 2, $150,000 San Clemente Handicap for 3-year-old turf fillies before a crowd of 24,873.
Big payoffs lit the board at Colonial Downs after the Todd Pletcher-trained New York shipper Sea Chanter ran fourth at odds of 1-5 in the $60,000 Tippett for 2-year-old fillies.
Sales Tax, a maiden making her second start, stalked the pacesetters My Little Josie and Ashley's Dreamer, gained the lead in midstretch, and drew away to win by two lengths. My Little Josie held on for second at 6-1, and Valin Time rallied for third at 16-1.
Favored Sealy Hill made her turf debut a winning one, taking the $251,600 Wonder Where Stakes at Woodbine by a comfortable margin under Patrick Husbands.
The 1 1/4-mile Wonder Where is the final race of the Canadian triple tiara series for 3-year-old fillies. Sealy Hill finished first in the first two legs, the Woodbine Oaks and Bison City Stakes, but was disqualified and placed third in the latter for drifting into the path of a rival, a decision which is under appeal.
Lantana Mob survived a six-way battle for the early lead to win the $60,000 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
The Tyro is the prep for the meet's biggest juvenile stakes, the Grade 3 Sapling on Sept. 2.
With Stewart Elliott aboard for trainer Steve Asmussen, Lantana Mob ($4.40) beat Spanky Fishbein by 1 1/2 lengths with Run Sully Run third. The time was 1:03.83 for 5 1/2 furlongs on the fast, sealed track.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y - Trainer Todd Pletcher sent Lawyer Ron to Monmouth Park last month with the idea of finding out if his horse liked the surface enough to come back in the fall for a potential start in the newly-created Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
Though his horse got beat a neck in that race, Pletcher was satisfied with how he ran. Now, however, the goal has changed for Lawyer Ron. Instead of pointing to the $1 million Dirt Mile on Oct. 26, he will now be aimed at the $5 million Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Oct. 27.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Becrux's victory in Friday's $90,385 Wickerr Handicap at Del Mar could lead to a start in the richest race of the meeting, the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19. The Wickerr was run at a mile on turf.
Barry Irwin, the president of Team Valor International, which co-owns Becrux, said the 5-year-old gelding will work on Del Mar's Polytrack synthetic surface in August. An assessment will be made before the Pacific Classic whether to try that 1 1/4-mile race or the $400,000 Del Mar Mile on turf the same day.
Delaware River pulled away to a 2o1/2-length victory over Putonyerdancinshuz Saturday at Philadelphia Park in the $125,000 Smarty Jones Classic, the richest of the 11 races exclusively for horses bred in the Keystone State. The card offered 10 stakes worth a combined $1 million.
Ridden by Horacio Karamanos, Delaware River ($4.20) posted his third win in the last four starts. The time was 1:42.10 for the 1 1/16 miles on the fast track.
