More Smoke, the 4-5 favorite, rushed to the lead from post 1, set a quick pace, and then opened up in midstretch to win the $50,000 for 3-year-olds at Pimlico.
Timely Impulse, 6-1, saved ground while running fourth, angled out in the stretch and passed two horses to get the place, beaten 3 3/4 lengths. Primal Storm sat off More Smoke till the stetch, and backed up to third, 6 1/4 lengths behind Timely Impulse.
Resplendency had never raced before on the grass, and there was no way she was going to try it for the first time on Friday. Rather, what trainer Bob Baffert hoped was that the $113,500 Monrovia Handicap would be moved to the main track because of recent wet weather.
At the least, Baffert can join the National Weather Service, because his forecast was spot on.
Expect an Angel, by far the longest price on the board at 39-1, rallied to a three-length decision over Alix M in the $100,000 Chaposa Spring Handicap at Calder. The race was advanced one day on the calendar so it would be run in 2004 and maintain its Grade 3 status.
MIAMI - Lord Robyn was allowed to get loose on an easy lead in Saturday's $100,000 and then never looked back, coasting home a 4 1/2-length winner over Fire Path in Calder's traditional New Year's Day turf feature.
The Grade 3 Tropical Park Derby, the first graded stakes of the new year in the U.S., was the highlight of Saturday's Grand Slam III program at Calder.
MIAMI - Dansetta Light, given a perfect trip by John Velazquez, turned back several strong challenges in deep stretch to score a hard-earned victory Saturday in the $100,000 on the Grand Slam III program at Calder Race Course.
Bred and owned by J D Farms and trained locally by David Brownlee, Dansetta Light returned $6.60 as second choice in a field of 11 3-year-old fillies. Dynamite Lass finished a neck back in second, while Silver Stage was another neck behind the runner-up and just another nose ahead of favored Rich in Spirit.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - When a jockey gets in the "zone," it seems like nothing but good things happen. One example is Jesus Castanon, who has been riding with rare focus in the early part of the meeting.
Through Friday's program, Castanon, who emerged from a long battle with T.D. Houghton to take last year's riding title, had won 18 races from 54 mounts for a dazzling 33 percent win rate. He has won four races on a program twice and is the leading money earner in the jockeys' room. In short, he has been putting on quite a show.
NEW ORLEANS - Seven of the nine 3-year-old fillies entered in Monday's feature at Fair Grounds, a $30,000 optional claimer at a mile, appear to have promising futures on the turf, which should make this a good betting race.
Diane's Debut has a class edge off her third-place finish in the $71,000 Caressing Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 20. The downside is that she has not worked since that race.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Greg Martin was extremely confident Bank Audit could win Saturday's Interborough Handicap. He just had to convince his owner, Robert Amendola, of it.
After several conversations, Martin eventually persuaded Amendola to scratch Bank Audit out of a Thursday allowance race and run in the Interborough.
Martin's faith was rewarded when Bank Audit took over from the pace-setting High Peaks in upper stretch and drew clear to a 5 1/2-length victory in the $81,255 at Aqueduct. Mariakel rallied from last to nip Belong to Sea by a head for second.
Miss Confusion proved much the best in the $40,000 Prime Rewards at Delta Downs on Friday, when she drew out to an eight length win in the one-mile race for fillies and mares who had never won a stakes. Mini Brush finished second, a length and a half clear of third-place finisher Ballroom Deputy.
Miss Confusion ($5) pushed pacesetter Crypto Em through an opening quarter in 23.09 seconds, took over from there and increased her advantage to the wire. She covered the distance over a fast track in 1:40.71.
Frank Stronach is not only one of racing's most accomplished owners and breeders, but his Magna Entertainment Corp. has also become North America's biggest racetrack company. Among Magna's prized possessions is Gulfstream Park, Florida's top winter track, which opens Monday.
