Neither a long layoff nor being asked to run on soft turf for the first time hindered Always First in the $59,300 Cape Henlopen Stakes at Delaware Park.
A California shipper making his first start since January, Always First ($9.80) made a three-wide move to take the lead from pacesetter Willard Straight and went on to post a three-length win in the 1 1/2-mile grass marathon.
Ridden by Jose Caraballo for trainer Tom Voss, Always First got the distance over a yielding course in 2:34.10.
Vestrey Lady ($9.50) made the early lead and never looked back en route to a half-length victory over 23-1 shot Gold Fish in the $134,400 La Lorgnette Stakes at Woodbine.
Vestrey Lady broke sharply under Jim McAleney and set uncontested splits of 23.90 seconds, 47.32, and 1:12.04 in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies. Sweet Breanna loomed into contention on the far turn and pressed the leader at the head of the stretch, but Vestrey Lady had plenty left and drew off to prevail in a final time of 1:44.91.
Dipping down into ungraded stakes company, Malibu Mint ($5) got a perfect trip in the $63,750 Weekend Delight Stakes at Turfway Park.
Ridden by Kyle Kaenel, Malibu Mint rallied from fifth in a field of nine fillies and mares and drew off to a 3 1/4-length victory over Morner in the six-furlong Weekend Delight. Hot Storm, the 2-1 second choice, finished another length back in third.
Malibu Mint, a 4-year-old filly, finished in a swift 1:08.40 over the Polytrack surface. Jim Chapman trains Malibu Mint for John and Martha Mulholland.
A pair of sharp 2-year-olds coming off rapidly run maiden victories swept the two divisions of the National Association of Two-Year-Old Consignors Futurity at Monmouth Park.
Reata's Rocket ($6.80), a five-length winner locally 19 days earlier, wired eight rivals by one length in the $209,000 first division for colts. Ridden by Chris DeCarlo for trainer Joe Orseno, Reata's Rocket covered six furlongs on a muddy track in 1:09.44.
Trainer Bob Barbara could have sent Interpatation to Maryland to run for twice as much money. But his decision to run in the $100,000 Larry Riviello President's Cup at Philadelphia Park looked pretty astute when two of Interpatation's chief rivals, T. D. Vance and Rock Lobster, both scratched.
Interpatation ($6.60) rallied down the middle of the track under Tommy Turner to pull away from 16-1 longshot Key Event by 2 1/4 lengths. Key Event held off another outsider, 12-1 Just Thunder, by a neck for second.
Bastille, lightly regarded after winning a minor stakes at Colonial Downs in early August, ran down two heavily bet rivals with far more impressive credentials to upset Saturday's $200,000 John Schapiro Memorial Breeders' Cup Handicap at Laurel Park.
Joe Rocco Jr. asked the 4-year-old Bastille for his best run in deep stretch and he overtook 4-5 favorite Fishy Advice by a half-length to earn his third consecutive victory.
Dreadnaught, the 7-5 second choice in a field reduced to six older horses by four scratches, finished third.
The Kentucky Cup turf series, postponed after a major storm front blew into the Franklin, Ky., area early Saturday, has been re-scheduled for Monday at Kentucky Downs.
Excessive rainfall and tornado warnings gave Kentucky Downs officials no choice but to postpone the track's richest program of the year, a development that has turned an otherwise mundane Monday card into a 13-race blockbuster that leads off with four straight stakes, including the three Kentucky Cup turf races.
MIAMI - After B. B. Best won for the first time in nearly two years and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure in the Ambehaving Stakes on Sept. 9, trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said he would probably start looking for another race for his multiple graded-stakes-placed colt in three weeks. As things turned out, Plesa didn't wait that long.
B. B. Best will spring back into action in only 16 days when he tops a field of eight older runners entered to go 1 1/16 miles under money allowance conditions in Monday's $40,000 feature at Calder.
MUSKEGON, Mich. - Leading trainer Gerald Bennett shook things up in the Great Lakes Downs racing office when he entered six of the 10 2-year-old colts and geldings in Monday's $50,000 Patrick Woods Stakes. A last-minute decision by Christine White, the Michigan racing commissioner, allowed the six separately-owned runners to run as individual betting interests in the six-furlong stakes.
Call it a lack of calm after the storm. The excitement of the Kentucky Cup turf series, postponed nearly 48 hours after a major storm front blew into the Franklin, Ky., area early Saturday, is scheduled to take place Monday at Kentucky Downs.
Excessive rainfall and tornado warnings gave Kentucky Downs officials no choice but to postpone its richest program of the year, a development that has turned an otherwise mundane Monday card into a 13-race blockbuster that leads off with four straight stakes, including the three Kentucky Cup turf races.
