Sat, 10/23/2004 - 00:00

Sister Swank collars 'Jinny,' draws off to win Valley View

Horsephotos
Sister Swank wins the Grade 3, $116,300 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday by 1 1/4-lengths.

Under steady right-handed pressure from Pat Day, Sister Swank collared front-running Jinny's Gold inside the sixteenth pole before edging clear to a 1 1/4-length triumph Saturday in the Grade 3, $116,300 at Keeneland.

Jinny's Gold, ridden by Calvin Borel, had drawn away at the top of the turf stretch and seemed on her way to victory before Sister Swank made a steady outside run to catch her. Jinny's Gold finished another 1 1/2 lengths in front of Shadow Cast in a field of 12 3-year-old fillies. Lenatareese, the 3-1 favorite, failed to menace and finished eighth.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 00:00

Hawthorne: Code of Ethics in slop

The Summertime Promise came off turf and Code of Ethics came up big, taking the lead on the first turn and easily beating six rivals at Hawthorne Race Course.

Carded for 1 1/16 miles on turf, the $43,600 Summertime Promise wound up on dirt after steady late-morning rain. That wasn't necessarily a good thing for Code of Ethics, who had won once on dry dirt but had finished a distant fourth in her only wet-track start.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 00:00

Woodbine: 'Ami' gets maiden win

Victorious Ami ($15.70) closed strongly in the stretch to win her maiden in style in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes.

Jockey Emile Ramsammy had Victorious Ami in a stalking position in the 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-old fillies, as Simply Lovely, the 4-5 favorite, dueled with Bimini Breeze and Dancehall Deelites through moderate fractions. Victorious Ami overtook Dancehall Deelites inside the eighth pole before edging away for a 1 3/4-length victory.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 00:00

Better fit for Rat Like Cunning

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Rat Like Cunning, badly outrun in the Pegasus Stakes, finds a more reasonable spot Tuesday afternoon at The Meadowlands Racetrack.

The Big M split the three-other-than allowance and optional $45,000 claiming feature into a mile and 70-yard race on the main track and a 1 1/16-mile turf contest, each carrying a $43,000 purse.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 00:00

Changing World wires Big M's Violet Handicap

Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Pablo Fragoso guides Changing World to the wire to upset Friday night's Grade 2, $200,000 Violet Handicap at The Meadowlands.

Changing World took charge early and dictated the pace to score an upset win Friday night in the Grade 3, $200,000 at The Meadowlands Racetrack.

Pablo Fragoso let the 4-year-old filly open a clear, yet relaxed, lead in the 1 1/16 miles handicap run over the "good" turf course. She was clocked in 1:41.53.

The aggressive tactics paid off as Changing World ($28.80) forced Ocean Drive, the 1-2 favorite, into the position of chasing a free-running leader from her stalking position in second.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 00:00

Long day's journey to Cup success

Horsephotos
Trainer Todd Pletcher, 0 for 12 in the Breeders' Cup, will have top contenders such as Speightstown and Ashado for this year's program.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Todd Pletcher was sitting on the couch in his Garden City home, shoes off, hands behind his head, relaxing. His two sons, Payton, 5, and Kyle, 4, were running around in their Halloween costumes. His daughter, Hannah, 1, was finishing her lunch of macaroni and cheese.

Tracy Pletcher brought her husband and a visitor a cup of coffee. The television was on, first to the NFL pre-game shows, then to the races from Belmont Park. It could have been any house on any fall Sunday in Long Island.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 00:00

Sulamani leads mighty Euros

Michael Burns
Sulamani, a winner of over $4 million in his 16-race career, heads a field of 11 in Sunday's Pattison Canadian International at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sulamani, one of the world's best turf horses, heads a high-caliber European contingent in the 67th running of the Grade 1 at Woodbine Sunday.

The 1 1/2-mile race, worth $1.5 million, is the centerpiece of a spectacular 11-race card, which includes two other top-notch turf stakes, the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor and the Grade 2 Nearctic.

Sulamani is trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin, the combination that won the 2000 International with Mutafaweq.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 00:00

Equipment change may be crucial

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Alabama Rain and Timeless Passion finished a nose apart when they met in the first three-turn race of the year for 2-year-olds at Hastings on Oct. 3. It could be hard separating them when they square off again in the feature race Sunday, a 1 1/16-mile allowance race that also includes CTHS Sales Stakes winner Run On.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 00:00

Humaita likes to go long

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Being a cut below the best of her class - albeit just a small cut - Humaita was kept out of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf to run instead Sunday in the Rood & Riddle Dowager Stakes at Keeneland.

Humaita was beaten just two lengths when finishing seventh in her last start, the Grade 1 Flower Bowl on Oct. 2 at Belmont Park. The Flower Bowl habitually produces starters for the Breeders' Cup, but Graham Motion, trainer of Humaita, used a reality check and set his sights on the Dowager.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 00:00

My Typhoon still untested

ELMONT, N.Y. - My Typhoon looked fabulous winning her maiden by 5 1/4 lengths on the turf at Saratoga. Sunday, she makes her second start in the $75,000-added Miss Grillo on the closing-day card of Belmont's fall meet.

My Typhoon is the likely favorite among nine 2-year-old fillies entered in the 1 1/8-mile inner turf race.

Trained by Bill Mott, My Typhoon won her career debut in a 1 1/16-mile race over a course labeled good on Aug. 29. In the race, My Typhoon, who was ridden by Jerry Bailey, controlled the pace.