ELMONT, N.Y. - The victory by First Samurai in Saturday's Grade 1 confirmed something rival trainer Steve Asmussen already knew as it pertains to the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Oct. 29.
"I need a rider," said Asmussen, who trains Belmont Futurity winner Private Vow. "That's what I saw this weekend. Nothing changed. The best ones are still the best ones."
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It's the calm between two storms, this Wednesday card at Keeneland.
With FallStars Weekend in the books, and one last Grade 1 race on the horizon, the nine races here Wednesday look a little lean by comparison.
No matter. Even without a stakes - rare on any day at Keeneland - there still are some solid races to be run here Wednesday.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - In most recent years, the postmortems about how races were run on opening weekend of the Keeneland fall meet have centered on a track bias that invariably favored speed and/or inside horses.
But on the three programs that opened the 2005 fall meet, the main track seemed to play quite fairly for all concerned - inside or outside, speed or closer. It was virtually impossible, however, not to notice one major trend: The track yielded some of the slowest times in Keeneland history, leading many fans to wonder what led to such dramatic change.
CHICAGO - Silver Zipper is 8 going on 9, Silver Bid a couple months away from his 8-year-old birthday. Both gray coats are fading to white. And how much high-class racing is left for this excellent pair of sprinters?
The question is not an idle one. The question, in fact, must be answered to divine the results of the featured fourth race on Wednesday at Hawthorne. Silver Zipper has post 1, and Silver Bid the 5-hole in a six-horse field of top-end dirt sprinters.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Roger Attfield wanted to prove a point with Palladio in Sunday's $165,750 Ontario Derby.
Palladio, a Florida-bred 3-year-old colt, had been very impressive in winning Woodbine's Victoria Park and Thistledown's Grade 2 Ohio Derby earlier this year.
But Palladio's two most recent outings had been disappointing: a well-beaten fifth in Monmouth's Grade 1 Haskell and a nonthreatening seventh in Saratoga's Grade 3 Saranac on turf.
Umpateedle, the longest shot on the board, won a quarter-mile stretch duel with Smokey Glacken, the even-money favorite, to take Sunday's Grade 2, $150,000 by a nose at Belmont Park.
It was 2 1/2 lengths back to Travelator in third. Bank Audit and Sensibly Chic completed the order of finish.
Under Aaron Gryder, Umpateedle chased the pacesetting Smokey Glacken through a half-mile in 46.09 seconds. Umpateedle collared Smokey Glacken approaching the quarter pole, and the two hooked up for the prolonged stretch duel in which Umpateedle prevailed late.
Roarofvictory rallied to a 4 1/2-length win over Subsequently in the $20,000 Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Handicap at The Woodlands.
Roarofvictory ($17) covered the six furlongs in 1:10.80. Rafael Hernandez was aboard the winner for trainer Jim McCoy.
Roarofvictory races for Orion Stables and has now won 6 of 29 starts and $142,052.
Culpeper Moon became a stakes winner when she upset the favorite, Dee Dee's Diner, by 1 3/4 lOwner-trainer William Campbell took home $337,500 of the $450,000 purse for the West Virginia Breeders Classic on Saturday at Charles Town, when his entry of Speed Whiz and Slew's Smile finished one-two.
A Huevo, the 1-2 favorite who won the Classic by 19 1/4 lengths last year, was pulled up early in the race and later euthanized.
The West Virginia Breeders Classics card comprised eight stakes, all for West Virginia-bred or -sired horses, worth a total of $1,080,000.
Scottsbluff ($6), an up-and-coming 3-year-old, foiled his elders in Turf Paradise's $40,000 Caballos del Sol by gamely re-rallying to get the victory.
Scottsbluff dueled with Cocoa Latte through five-eighths of a mile, then dug in and beat Cocoa Latte on the line by a nose.
Ridden by Miguel Hernandez for trainer Dan Morgan, Scottsbluff covered the six furlongs in 1:09.06. Grimm, the even-money favorite, chased the top two all the way around but couldn't cut into their lead and finished third.
