ARCADIA, Calif. - The raw speed of Behaving Badly was too much for her seven rivals to overcome in Sunday's $250,000 at Santa Anita.
Allowed to set a quick pace, Behaving Badly was brilliant in the Grade 1 Santa Monica, pulling away to win the seven-furlong race by 4 1-2 lengths over Miss Terrible. Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Behaving Badly ($4.60) was timed in 1:21.93.
"I told Victor, 'Let her drag you to the lead,'" trainer Bob Baffert said. "She's one-dimensional."
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Norman Pointer had to take a leave of absence from the barn this winter due to health reasons. But the veteran horseman got some pretty good medicine on Sunday when his Hotstufanthensome rallied from near the rear of the pack to beat Go Deputy by a length in Gulfstream Park's $100,000 .
Slick City Nites raced close throughout for a two and a quarter length win over Herman Muttster in the $30,000 Bucharest for 3-year-olds at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night. It was another length and three quarters back in third to favorite Minstrel Runner.
Slick City Nites ($8.40) sat off of pacesetter My Dana Boy, who under pressure set fractions of 21.81 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.78 for the half-mile mark. Slick City Nites took the lead in the stretch, and increased his advantage, covering six furlongs over a sloppy track in 1:11.94.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Da Stoops ($4.60) won his second restricted race of the Santa Anita meeting, leading throughout the $250,000 .
Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Da Stoops ran six furlongs in 1:08.94 and won by 7 1/2 lengths. After bobbling at the start, he led from the rail through early fractions of 21.37 and 43.56 seconds.
A California-bred, Da Stoops was never really threatened. After a brief skirmish with Dinner Magic in the opening furlong, Da Stoops pulled away to lead by three lengths entering the stretch and five lengths at the eighth pole.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Hot Storm's annual visit to California produced a lucrative stakes win in the $300,000 .
In 2005, Hot Storm, a Florida-bred, won the Sunshine Millions Oaks in a 21-1 upset in her lone start of the year on the West Coast. This year, bettors gave her every chance in the Filly and Mare Sprint, sending her off as the 3-1 second choice.
Hot Storm, 4, took advantage of a track that played friendly to front-runners Saturday and won her fifth consecutive race.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Bordonaro was out of sorts at his barn in the morning, and washed out in the paddock before the race, but he saved plenty of energy for the $300,000 , which began the Gulfstream Park portion of the Sunshine Millions.
After getting outrun for the early lead, Bordonaro was able to reel in early leaders Areyoutalkintome and Thor's Echo, then staved off a late bid by Tacirring to win by three-quarters of a length and score his third straight victory and seventh in his last eight starts.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Joint Effort circled rivals into the stretch before drawing off to an impressive 2 1/2-length victory over A Sea Trippi in the $250,000 .
Joint Effort, a 3-year-old daughter of Runaway Groom, rallied five wide into the stretch, readily overtook the tiring leaders inside the eighth pole, and won going away under jockey Mark Guidry. A Sea Trippi also rallied wide off the turn and finished willingly to be second-best. Lake Alice, a 90-1 chance, raced forwardly from the outset and continued well to be third.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Lava Man, who earned more money than any other California-bred in 2005, showed why he is the king of the statebreds in Saturday's $1 million at Santa Anita.
Ending a three-race losing streak that cast doubt into whether he could regain his outstanding form of last summer, Lava Man won the Classic against California-breds and Florida-breds by 2 1/4 lengths over Whos Crying Now, a Florida-bred.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - There would be no storybook ending to jockey Jerry Bailey's career, but he went out a champion nonetheless, even after his final mount, Silver Tree, fell three-quarters of a length shy of catching 48-1 Miesque's Approval in Saturday's $500,000 at Gulfstream Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Arnold Zetcher has made his fortune in women's clothing, and on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, his mare House of Fortune was pretty in pink. House of Fortune, wearing Zetcher's bright pink silks, turned back fellow California-bred Dream of Summer on the far turn and then turned on the jets en route to a 6 1/2-length victory in the $500,000 .
