Mon, 11/08/2004 - 00:00

Halory Leigh wins Churchill Downs Distaff

Four Footed Fotos
Halory Leigh pulls an upset over favored Lady Tak and 10 other fillies and mares in the Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap on Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Confirming a sensational last win at Keeneland, Halory Leigh followed through with another huge effort Sunday when pulling a 14-1 upset over favored Lady Tak and 10 other fillies and mares in the Grade 2, $230,400 .

Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Craig Perret, Halory Leigh moved up steadily after racing well back through the opening half of the one-mile Distaff, then raced past Lady Tak with surprising ease to notch the first graded stakes, and easily the richest, triumph of her 20-race career.

Mon, 11/08/2004 - 00:00

Leaving On My Mind wins Jean Lafitte

Jessica East/Coady Photography
Leaving On My Mind wins the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs on Saturday.

VINTON, La. - Taking care of business as he almost always does, Leaving On My Mind ran to his short price in Saturday night's $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes, drawing clear to win by five lengths. Longshot Rubialedo rallied to finish second followed by My Parade, who also turned in a bit of late run.

Sun, 11/07/2004 - 00:00

Churchill jockeys boycotting Wed. card

Horsephotos
Jockey Shane Sellers was escorted off the Churchill Downs property Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Most of the top jockeys at Churchill Downs told their agents not to name them on horses for the Wednesday card, further inflaming a controversy that promises to have widespread ramifications over the national issue of sufficient insurance coverage for jockeys.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

Congressionalhonor takes Bay Meadows Derby

Vassar Photo
Congressionalhonor wins the Grade 3 $100,000 Bay Meadows Derby at Bay Meadows on Saturday.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Benefiting from a clean trip in a roughly run race, Congressionalhonor ($20.40) circled the field and won the Grade 3 $100,000 at Bay Meadows on Saturday.

Favored Hendrix appeared much the best but was trapped behind horse from the quarter pole. He had no room to move wide and finally bulled his way between horses, bothering both Kingdom Come and Big Squeeze at the eighth pole.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

From France to Long Island

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Eleusis and Jose Santos take the Long Island by 2 1/4 lengths, giving owner Gary Tanaka his third victory in the last five runnings of the race.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Owner Gary Tanaka was born in Idaho, and resides in London, but he is certainly quite at home in Long Island.

The Long Island Handicap, that is. For the third time in five years, Tanaka won the Grade 2 with a European-based 3-year-old filly. Saturday, Tanaka won the $150,000 turf stakes with Eleusis, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Diesis who had won 5 of 6 starts racing in France.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

Straight Line rolls in Iroquois

Four-Footed Fotos
Straight Line, with Brice Blanc in the saddle, wins the Iroquois Stakes by a widening five lengths.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bill Cartwright has been taking phone calls about selling a 2-year-old colt named Straight Line for months. To his credit, Cartwright resisted all offers, and after the colt won the $109,600 at Churchill Downs by five widening lengths Saturday, Cartwright said "only a life-changing" sum might make him pay closer attention.

That's huge bucks he's talking about. Cartwright speaks for a partnership of five well-heeled Chicago stockbrokers who co-own Straight Line with Harvey Vanier, the 80-year-old trainer whose wife, Nancy, is the other half-owner in the colt.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

Punch Appeal takes Pocahontas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Steve Asmussen and Pat Day pretty much squeezed all they could out of Punch Appeal.

Making her eighth career start and about to go through the sales ring Tuesday at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, Punch Appeal gamely held off Aspen Tree to win the $109,500 at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Punch Appeal, a 2-year-old filly by the first-year sire Successful Appeal, got a great trip under Day - and needed every inch of it to win the one-turn-mile Pocahontas by a nose.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

Personal Legend a winner on dirt

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Life continues to be good for trainer Bobby Frankel and the stallion Awesome Again.

On Oct. 30, Frankel won the Breeders' Cup Classic with Ghostzapper, a son of Awesome Again. Awesome Again also sired the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko, a non-Frankel trainee who was going turf-to-dirt in his North American debut.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

Two spots for Aclassysassylassy

MIAMI - Aclassysassylassy is not about to rest on her laurels.

Three weeks after becoming just the second filly to sweep the Florida Stallion Stakes, Aclassysassylassy will return to action on Saturday's Florida Million program. The only question is, which race will she compete in?

Trainer Dave Vivian has nominated Aclassysassylassy to both the seven-furlong Jack O'Farrell Juvenile Fillies and 1 1/16-mile John Franks Juvenile Fillies Turf, and may reserve his decision until race day.

Sat, 11/06/2004 - 00:00

O'Neill runs 1-2 in Bien Bien

Whilly who ran in three top stakes in Italy before arriving in the U.S. last spring, scored his first stakes win in Saturday's $63,325 Bien Bien Stakes at Hollywood Park.

The victory gave trainer Doug O'Neill a one-two sweep in the restricted race, with Perfect Moon finishing second. Whilly ($8.60) finished a mile on turf in 1:36.23.

The restricted Bien Bien marked Whilly's third start in the United States. He finished third in the Grade 3 Cinema Breeders' Cup Handicap in June and eighth in the Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby last month at Santa Anita.