Mother Nature repeatedly delayed plans to put Gilded Gold back onto turf but the wait proved worthwhile in the $85,000 Kattegat's Pride Stakes at Laurel Park.
Fourth in her only previous try on grass three months ago, Gilded Gold ($13.20) overtook fading pacesetter Ambition Unbridled in the upper stretch, then held off 27-1 longshot Tight Spin by 1 1/4 lengths.
Ridden by Enrique Jurado for trainer Alan Goldberg, Gilded Gold completed the five furlongs in a swift 55.70 seconds.
First Class Guy opened a substantial lead on the turn and rolled to a 6 1/2-length romp in the $61,639 colt and gelding division on the New Jersey Futurity on Friday night at The Meadowlands.
The Futurity is the top event for 2-year-olds bred in the state.
First Class Guy ($3.20) was coupled with fourth-place finisher Skip Along Jet as an entry for trainer Jason Servis. Chris DeCarlo was aboard the winner, who ran the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.85
Fagedaboutit Sal, supplemented for $5,100, was second with Defrere the Smile third.
Colonial Surprise recorded a 9-1 upset in the $153,175 Ontario Fashion Handicap at Woodbine, winning by 1 3/4 lengths over 19-1 shot Search the Church.
Friendly Theresa set lively fractions of 22.12 and 45.42 seconds in the six-furlong sprint. Colonial Surprise commenced a three-wide rally from a stalking position on the turn, and overtook Search the Church at the sixteenth pole before drawing clear under jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva. Favored Silver Bird finished sixth in the seven-horse field of fillies and mares. The final time was 1:10.89.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Few of the 117 statebred horses entered to run Sunday at Santa Anita exemplify the spirit of the California Cup more than the big, good-looking gelding Desert Boom.
"He's one of those cool professionals; he's a horse you can do anything with," trainer Art Sherman said.
On Sunday, the 5-year-old will be favored for the biggest payday of his 35-race career when he starts as the dominant favorite in the $250,000 California Cup Classic.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - John Hertler already trains one of the better New York-bred turf horses in Dave, with whom Hertler won the West Point Handicap at Saratoga. Three weeks ago, Hertler took over the training of another talented New York-bred grass runner in Retribution, who heads a deep field in Sunday's $100,000 Cormorant Stakes at Aqueduct.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As third-place finishes go, Classic Pack's effort in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes and Little Miss Zip's performance in the Maid of the Mist two weeks ago in one-mile stakes races at Belmont Park were solid.
Sunday, Classic Pack and Little Miss Zip cut back to their preferred distance of six furlongs and look like the ones to beat in their respective divisions of restricted stakes at Aqueduct.
meets 11 other fillies in the $125,000 Fifth Avenue. Both races are restricted to progeny of New York-based stallions.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Marty Wolfson has gotten pretty good at scoring with the hit-and-run in Kentucky. Last month at Keeneland, Pampered Princess won the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes, emulating the successful invasions that the south Florida-based Wolfson has pulled off in recent years with fillies such as Stay Forever and O K to Dance.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Surely the most ubiquitous new wager in North America this year is the 10-cent superfecta. many racetracks now sell a dime super, which allows bettors to buy more combinations at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost in $1 increments.
Arlington Park and Ellis Park, both owned by Churchill Downs Inc., sold dime supers at their respective meets this summer, but when the company's flagship track opened its fall meet on Oct. 30, Churchill declined to offer them.
MIAMI - Calder's racing schedule returned to normal on Thursday for the first time since the area was devastated by Hurricane Wilma on Oct. 24, but the track itself is still not conducting business "under any semblance of normality," according to Calder president Ken Dunn.
"It's a credit to the department heads and the local horsemen that we are back on schedule, but it's going to be a long time before we get back to life around here pre-Wilma," Dunn said Friday.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Paulo Lobo always sparkles with his Brazilian imports, be they the 2002 Eclipse winner Farda Amiga or the talented Brazilian-bred sprinter Pico Central.
He unveiled another talented Brazilian, Sky Di Job, at Bay Meadows in September and brings him back for his second start in Sunday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a $50,000 optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Sky Di Job faces six rivals in the first race at a special post time of 11:30 a.m. because of the Cal Cup at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.
