DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockey Alex Solis was expected to leave Scripps Memorial Hospital in nearby La Jolla over the weekend, a week after he suffered a cracked vertebra in a one-horse spill at Del Mar on July 21.
In a telephone interview Saturday, Solis said doctors have told him he can leave the hospital whenever he wants. Solis said he will be out for three to six months and plans to use the time to take a lengthy vacation.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Cliff's Edge completed his preparations for next Sunday's Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes with a superb five-furlong workout on Saturday timed in 1:00.22 over Saratoga's main track.
The Cliff's Edge, under Maxine Correa, began his work 3 1/2 lengths behind stablemates Broadway View and Discover the Glory and finished about three lengths in front. A private clocker who watched The Cliff's Edge train in Kentucky this spring said the work was reminiscent of the one The Cliff's Edge put in prior to his win in the Blue Grass Stakes.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Allen Jerkens got the fast pace he was looking for and Society Selection did the rest as she overpowered Forest Music inside the eighth pole and drew clear for a 6 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 at soggy Saratoga.
Bending Strings, who finished second behind Society Selection in the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct in April, rallied to get second again, 3 3/4 lengths ahead of Forest Music. It was another 4 1/4 lengths back to Friendly Michelle, the 2-1 favorite.
Total daily average handle was a record, but average ontrack handle and average daily attendance were down during the 60-day Belmont spring-summer meeting that ended July 25. The 2003 meet comprised only 55 days.
Total daily average commingled handle for the 2004 meet was $12,086,814, an increase of 3.4 percent from the 2003 average of $11,686,954. The previous record of $11,959,803 was set in 2002.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - High-percentage trainer John Martin might become known as the King of Santa Rosa if he continues his hot streak.
Martin is winning at a 23 percent clip in 2004 and had won 5 of 7 races, including four straight, heading into the weekend at the Sonoma County Fair.
"That was fun," he said after going 3 for 3 Friday on top of winning Thursday's nightcap. "I had a lot of trouble at Pleasanton, but things are changing."
MIAMI - Chatter Chatter was the best 2-year-old filly on dirt stabled in south Florida at the end of 2003. On Monday, trainer Marty Wolfson gives her the opportunity to prove she can be just as good on turf in the $40,000 Mia's Hope Stakes at Calder.
MIAMI - A hotly contested pace was exactly what trainer Manny Azpurua was looking for and precisely what he got for his stretch-running Gold Dollar, who rallied from last place to score a 1 1/2-length upset victory in Saturday's $75,000 Groomstick Handicap at Calder.
Gold Dollar ($33.20) led a parade of longshots in the 6 1/2-furlong Groomstick, outfinishing 47-1 Last Charade and 27-1 My Last Chance, who finished another neck farther behind in third.
The top three finishers combined for a trifecta that paid $14,038 for a $2 ticket.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Jim Ryerson swept both $60,000 stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday as Park Avenue Ball rallied to win the Tyro and Tangier Sound set all the pace in the Klassy Briefcase.
Park Avenue Ball posted a 2 1/2-length victory in the Tyro for 2-year-olds.
Park Avenue Ball ($3.20), the lone New Jersey-bred in the eight-horse field, powered into contention with a three-wide move around the turn.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wholelottabourbon was the toast of the track, sprinting to a clear lead after the opening quarter-mile en route to a 4 1/2-length victory in the $134,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine.
Wholelottabourbon ($8.90), with Fort Erie-based Francine Villeneuve in the irons, dueled briefly inside Quite a Ruckus, the only filly and the lone stakes winner in the field of five, before taking charge.
"He does it all so easy, on his own," said Villeneuve. "He even relaxed once I shook loose of the filly, and kept going fast."
Majestic Dinner ($9.80) returned to the form that made him the Ohio-bred handicap horse of the year in 2002 when he posted a nose victory over Real Echo in the $45,000 George Lewis Memorial Handicap on Friday at Thistledown. Majestic Dinner's entrymate, Forest Picnic, finished third in the 1 1/8-mile race for statebred 3-year-olds and upward.
