By JAY PRIVMAN
DEL MAR, Calif. -- In 20 prior starts, Student Council had never won a graded stakes race, nor competed in a Grade 1 race. But his previous good efforts on synthetic surfaces made him attractive to owner Ro Parra and his adviser, Jerry Brown of Thoro-Graph, who purchased him privately with Sundays Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar in mind. The investment paid off immediately when Student Council scored a 23-1 upset only days after arriving on the West Coast.
DEL MAR, Calif.-Crossing the Line unleashed a rally at the top of the stretch of Sundays $400,000 Del Mar Mile that carried him to the winners circle and possibly to the Breeders Cup Mile at Monmouth Park on Oct. 27.
Crossing the Line won the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile by three-quarters of a length over Becrux, finishing a mile on turf in 1:32.59. With the victory, he earned an automatic berth to the BC Mile, if the partnership that owns the 5-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding chooses to pay a supplemental fee.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Revved Up gave another illustration why he prefers racing over retirement as the 9-year-old gelding rolled to a 1 1/2-length victory in Sundays $82,450 Johns Call Stakes at Saratoga.
General Jumbo, who prompted the pace from the outset, held second by a nose over the hard-charging Bailador.
The victory was the 18th from 39 career starts for Revved Up, a 9-year-old gelded son of Sultry Song. Revved Up has won at least one race in seven of the eight years he raced. The only year he didnt win was 2004 when he ran only one time.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- Polytrack may be a bugaboo for a horse like Bordonaro, but for Gregs Gold, it is manna from heaven.
Gregs Gold was off the track with a tendon injury to his right front leg from July 2005 until February, but he has been able to race six times so far this year, twice this summer at Del Mar, and on Sunday he scored his most important win since his comeback with a 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 Pat OBrien Handicap.
Sundays pick six at Del Mar, already guaranteed to reach $1 million, will feature a carryover of $253,116 from Saturday's program.
Sunday's program is one of the best of the meeting, a pick six that features two stakes, including the $1 million Pacific Classic.
The pick six covers the fifth through 10th races on a program that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific. The first pick six race, the fifth race, is scheduled for 3 p.m.
A glance at the pick six races shows a few wide-open races and a few where bettors can take a stand with a single selection.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Rutherienne's outstanding 2007 turf campaign went nationwide on Saturday when she scored her fifth consecutive stakes win in the $400,000 Del Mar Oaks. The Grade 1 Oaks was Rutherienne's first start outside of Kentucky or the East Coast.
Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Rutherienne ($9.20) rallied wide on the turn to win the Oaks by two lengths over Valbenny, the 2-1 favorite. Rutherienne finished 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.79.
Super Freaky finished third in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Forty Acres earned a berth into next month's Super Derby with a front-running, 2 1/2-length win Saturday in the $100,000 Prelude at Louisiana Downs. The race was the richest on a card of five stakes, all designed as preps for the stakes on the Super Derby program here Sept. 22.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. Midway around the far turn of the Arlington Oaks, you could see why trainer Eoin Harty sent Marietta to Arlington from Saratoga for Saturday's Arlington Oaks.
With a big run from the back of the pack - a signature Mark Guidry kind of ride - Marietta won her second straight Grade 3 stakes, capturing the $100,000 Oaks by 1 3/4 lengths over Humble Janet. If the exacta rings a bell, it should: These two also were one-two in the June 29 Iowa Oaks.
HENDERSON, Ky. Pleasant Hill, competing while still eligible for second-level allowance conditions, turned back top-weighted Brownie Points before finishing clear of a late surge by High Heels to capture the 26th running of the Grade 3 Gardenia Handicap on Saturday at Ellis Park.
P V Lightening obviously needed a lot more ground than five furlongs to show his best stuff.
Fifth of nine but closing ground when tried on turf for the first time in a sprint earlier this month, P V Lightening stretched out to 1 1/8 miles Saturday and scored a convincing win in the $50,000 Humphrey S. Finney Stakes for Maryland-bred 3-year-olds at Laurel Park.
Ridden for the first time by Travis Dunkelberger, P V Lightening ($17.80) came from far back to draw off by two lengths, covering nine furlongs on turf in 1:47.12.