Knights Templar ($11.30) overhauled front-running Truly Blushed in the stretch to capture the $137,675 Ontario Debutante Stakes at Woodbine.
Truly Blushed set fractions of 22.47 and 44.94 seconds in the six-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies. Knights Templar stalked the pace from a four-wide position on the turn, then drew abreast of Truly Blushed at the eighth pole before edging away for a 1 3/4-length victory. The final time was a quick 1:09.75.
One Way Flight and Little Miss Zip shipped in from Belmont Park and Saratoga, respectively, to win the two six-figure races for New York-breds at Finger Lakes on Saturday.
One Way Flight, based at Belmont Park with trainer Steve Asmussen, broke on top and never looked back, winning the $128,275 Aspirant for New York-bred 2-year-olds by a widening 13 1/4 lengths.
One Way Flight broke first out of the gate under Brian Peck with even-money second choice Speed of Sound 1 1/2 lengths behind on his inside and 11-1 Nunzionic hustling up just behind the leaders on the outside.
Demagoguery and Its His Time, the top two finishers from the July 19 Spartan Stakes at Great Lakes Downs, will meet again when they head a field of seven in Tuesday's $50,000 Dowling Stakes. The one-mile Dowling, for 3-year-old Michigan-bred colts and geldings, is the eighth race on the card.
Demagoguery, owned by Mary Mazur, was last season's juvenile champion at Great Lakes. Although he has not raced since the Spartan Stakes, he turned in a five-furlong bullet work of 1:03.20 on Aug. 17. He has the benefit of the meet's leading trainer Gerald Bennett and jockey Terry Houghton.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The window of opportunity for Afleet Alex to make the Breeders' Cup appears to be closing.
After evaluating X-rays of Afleet Alex's condylar fracture in his left foreleg, Dr. Larry Bramlage said the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner is not ready to do any more than walk the shed row for the next two weeks. His connections were hoping to begin walking him under tack later this week and return him to the track possibly the following week.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Kitten's Joy will not contest the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe as his connections had been planning for months, and instead will make his next start in the $750,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 1.
The Joe Hirsch will be Kitten's Joy's final prep for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont on Oct. 29. Owner Ken Ramsey still plans to send Kitten's Joy to Japan for the Japan Cup on Nov. 27.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Unbeaten He's Got Grit romped to a 8 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Saturday at Monmouth Park.
A gelded son of Songandaprayer who is trained by Steve Asmussen, He's Got Grit extended his winning streak to three in Monmouth's premier event for 2-year-olds.
He won first time out for a claiming tag at Churchill Downs and made a smooth transition to stakes company with a victory in the Tyro, Monmouth's Sapling prep.
He's Got Grit ($7.60) ran the six furlongs in 1:09.69 over the fast track.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The dark sunglasses were more than just a fashion statement for Bob Baffert on Friday afternoon.
Just hours after his top 2-year-old, What a Song, was euthanized because of a leg injury suffered in a morning gallop, Baffert was trying his best to hide his true emotions during the race program.
On any other day, the eight-race program would have been a memorable one. Baffert won two races, including the $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap with the unbeaten Behaving Badly.
MIAMI - Trainer Frank Gomez already has the area's top 2-year-old prospect, the undefeated In Summation, who last weekend captured the opening leg of the Florida Stallion Stakes with a dominant performance in the Dr. Fager Stakes.
But Gomez may also have the second-best juvenile on the grounds in Rehoboth, who annihilated a field of first-level allowance horses going seven furlongs on Friday.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Sunday afternoon at Del Mar, after the surveillance team clears out from the stables, and handicappers stop mulling speed figures, and the debate over racing surface ends, a Grade 1 horse race will be run.
The story lines woven in the $1 million nearly exceed the number of horses in the race. Twelve entered, and 11 are expected to contest the 1 1/4-mile race in which Lava Man seeks validation. A former claimer, he enters off a runaway victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. Is he a good horse, or merely a Hollywood horse for course?
DEL MAR, Calif. - Everywhere he turns this summer at Del Mar, trainer Bruce Headley is reminded of what might have been. When he heads to the paddock on Sunday for the Grade 1, $1 million , Headley will see Choctaw Nation, who was claimed away from Headley in his first start by Jeff Mullins and has since earned more than $1 million.
In the mornings, Headley sees several of the horses he bought and first trained for wine magnate Jess Jackson, including El Roblar, one of this circuit's top 3-year-old turf runners, now trained by Richard Mandella.
