Smart Growth, bet from 4-1 on the morning line to 7-5 favorite, rallied from last in a field of six to win the $54,000 Stymie by 3 1/2 lengths Saturday at Delaware Park.

Smart Growth circled rivals on the far turn, took the lead a furlong out, and won going away.

Confucius Say, the 5-2 third choice, stalked the early pace, grabbed the lead with three furlongs left, and had no answer for Smart Growth while holding second by a half-length over 12-1 Diamond David. Second choice Angelic Aura was well-placed early but faded in the drive, finishing fifth.

Somethinaboutlaura ($2.80) performed exactly as expected, scoring an easy victory in the $68,763 Autumn Leaves Handicap at Bay Meadows.

The 4-year-old filly rated nicely behind Breeze Along despite being eased a little wide into the first turn by Penny Ante. She moved up on the backstretch, went by Breeze Along on the second turn, and was in control through the stretch. She defeated Royal Kleven by four lengths in the 1o1/16-mile race on a fast track, timed in 1:41.90.

"That's just the way it was supposed to go," winning jockey Russell Baze said after his 9,516th victory.

Midway on the far turn in Saturday's $75,000 Northern Dancer at Laurel, the five-horse race was unfolding basically as expected. The 1-5 favorite Ah Day was tracking the pacesetting Forty Crowns and appeared ready to go by any moment that jockey Mario Pino asked.

Proving his last-out nine-length slop win at Belmont was no fluke, Accountforthegold ($10.60) quickly took command at the start of Saturday's $110,100 , and led past every pole to win by a length over late-rallying 7-5 favorite Carminooch. Organizer, the recent winner of the Empire Classic, finished third, as New York-breds swept the top three positions in the Grade 3 stakes.

Vancouver invader True Metropolitan became the front-runner for this year's Sovereign Award as Canada's champion older horse by winning his fifth consecutive race Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,400 .

As expected, Just Rushing and favored Barracuda Boy dueled up front through fractions of 24.13 seconds, 47.09, and 1:11.84 in the 1 1/16-mile event. True Metropolitan commenced his rally in unison with Edenwold going into the far turn, and made the lead at the quarter pole before drawing off for a four-length victory.

But the Ramseys were in the Churchill winner's circle sporting their familiar grins late Saturday afternoon after watching Precious Kitten, a half-sister to their Eclipse Award winner Kitten's Joy, gamely hold off J'ray in the desperate final yards of the Grade 2, $170,550 at Churchill.

"Boy, it's great to get off the duck," Ken Ramsey said afterward, employing an oft-used saying for having no wins at a race meet.

MIAMI - Saturday's third race may have been a perfect indication of what to expect from the jockeys' race between now and the end of the Tropical at Calder meeting on Jan. 2.

Leading riders Jermaine Bridgmohan and Manoel Cruz hooked up aboard Go Native and 4-5 favorite Valentine Verse from the half-mile pole to the wire in the mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies, with neither giving a quarter until Bridgmohan and Go Native edged to a narrow victory in the closing yards.

NEW ORLEANS - In its best years, Fair Grounds Race Course grew its simulcast signal through the presentation of big, bettable fields, and opening day of the 2006-2007 meet harks back to that era, with 103 horses entered on Saturday for Thursday's opening-day program.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The Tin Man was kept out of the Breeders' Cup Turf because his trainer, Richard Mandella, was not satisfied with the way he was training, and weeks later, things have not improved. So, on Saturday at Hollywood Park, Mandella said The Tin Man would skip Friday's Grade 1, $400,000 Citation Handicap and instead get an extended vacation.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A jockeys' room altercation prior to the running of the fourth race at Woodbine on Nov. 11 has resulted in lengthy suspensions for riders Patrick Husbands and Constant Montpellier.

On Saturday, Husbands was fined $5,000 and suspended 60 calendar days for hitting Montpellier with his helmet during the incident.

"He used his helmet as a weapon, attacking another rider," said Richard Grubb, senior steward for the Ontario Racing Commission here at Woodbine.