ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Wally Dollase came to New York last year and finished second with Ten Most Wanted in the Belmont Stakes. This year, Dollase's trip was a bit more rewarding when he saddled Meteor Storm to a victory in the Grade 1, $400,000 on the Belmont Stakes undercard.
Meteor Storm, who was ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., won the Manhattan by 1 1/4 lengths over Millennium Dragon. Mr O'Brien finished a nose behind in third. Stroll, the 3-2 favorite and 121-pound highweight, finished sixth.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Under a rail-skimming ride from Pat Day, Fire Slam won a stretch-long battle with Teton Forest to win Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 by a head at Belmont Park.
It was 3 1/4 lengths back to Abbondanza in third. Value Plus, the 6-5 favorite finished sixth in the seven-horse field.
It was the second straight stakes win for Fire Slam and fifth overall from eight career starts. He is undefeated at a mile or under.
ELMONT, N.Y. - First came Banks Hill, and then Heat Haze. Now, Bobby Frankel has another daughter of the mare Hasili who appears ready to rocket to the top of the charts among female turf runners.
The latest incarnation is Intercontinental, who won her third straight race since arriving from Europe in Saturday's Grade 2, $226,333 at Belmont Park. The Just a Game was one of five graded stakes that supported the Belmont Stakes.
Before Saturday, trainer Todd Pletcher wondered if his Speightstown would be as effective at six furlongs as he has been at seven.
It took only 68 seconds for Pletcher to get his answer.
In a performance that was as visually impressive as it was fast, Speightstown dueled for the lead, fell back, and then came again to win the Grade 2 by 1 1/2 lengths on Saturday at Belmont Park in 1:08.04 for six furlongs. Cat Genius, the horse that Speightstown dueled with in the early stages of the race, finished second, followed by California shipper Pohave.
Bear Fan put in an eye-catching performance to win the $150,000 by nine lengths in track-record time. The win might have earned Bear Fan a trip to Lone Star Park for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Oct. 30.
The Grade 2 Vagrancy was Bear Fan's fourth consecutive win in a stakes this year.
Ridden by John Velazquez, Bear Fan, the 3-5 favorite, was unchallenged on the early lead in the 6 1/2-furlong Vagrancy and clicked off swift fractions of 21.99 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.68 for the half-mile.
Board Elligible returned to the dirt and returned to form, rallying from last to win the $70,950 White Carnation Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. Princess Dixie finished second, completing an all New York-bred exacta that returned $192.50. Saintly Action, the 2-1 favorite, finished third.
Rudirudy came into Saturday's Wolf Hill Stakes at Monmouth Park with 18 losses in a row, a streak dating back nearly two years. But at the age of 9, he's not ready to retire.
Racing just five days after a lackluster sixth-place finish at Philadelphia Park, Rudirudy ($23.40) rallied from far back in the pack to win the five-furlong, $60,000 Wolf Hill by 1 1/4 lengths over Manofglory. Blakelock was a head farther back in third.
Rudirudy's time for five furlongs over a turf course rated good was 56.04 seconds. It was his first victory since July 2002, also at Monmouth.
Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but the two biggest wins In Hand has registered in his career have both come over soft ground.
Racing on a course rated yielding by steady rain, In Hand withstood a late surge from Host to hang on for a neck victory in the $100,000 Greenwood Cup Handicap at Philadelphia Park.
It was In Hand's first stakes victory since he won over soft turf at Monmouth last summer.
Jane's Luck remained unbeaten in three lifetime starts when he wired five Maryland-bred 3-year-old rivals in the $75,000 Deputed Testamony Stakes at Pimlico.
Ridden by Jozbin Santana for trainer James Lawrence, Jane's Luck was comfortably in front through fractions of 47.79 seconds for a half-mile and 1:12.66 for six furlongs. His task was made easier when the saddle slipped on Water Cannon, the 4-5 favorite, early in the race, just as he was about to go after Jane's Luck on the backstretch.
Shiny Sheet, one of only two horses in a scratch-reduced field of five fillies and mares with more than two lifetime wins on the main track, relished the sloppy going and pulled away to an easy 2 1/2-length victory in the $100,300 John Rooney Memorial Handicap at Delaware Park.
The 1 1/8-mile race was moved off the turf because of heavy rains, a huge benefit for the 6-year-old Shiny Sheet, who is 0 for 2 on grass but 10 for 28 on dirt. Ridden by Jeremy Rose for trainer Charles Hadry, Shiny Sheet covered the nine furlongs over the sloppy track in 1:53.28.
