HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Only a dead heat would have made it a perfect afternoon for Allen Jerkens. As it was, the Hall of Fame trainer won with three of four starters on opening day at Gulfstream Park, with his only defeat coming when Bowman's Band was barely beaten by his Jerkens stablemate, Puzzlement, in the $100,000 .
"It's always good to get lucky," Jerkens said with typical calmness following the Grade 3 Hal's Hope.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It was more of a quiz than a test, but Smarty Jones scored high marks in his two-turn debut Saturday, rolling to a five-length victory in the $81,225 at Aqueduct to remain undefeated in three starts.
Pacesetter Risky Trick held second, six lengths ahead of Mr. Spock. Rb's Glitter, Sinister G, One Tough Dude, and a rank Distressed Debt completed the order of finish.
Smarty Jones, a son of Elusive Quality, was dominant in his first two starts - both sprints - at Philadelphia Park.
PORTLAND, Ore. - An evenly matched field of 10 older runners will clash at a mile in the top offering at Portland Meadows on Monday, a $2,500 claiming affair for horses who have never won two races.
None of the entrants are coming off wins, but Frigidon and Western Ruler ran second in their most recent outings and may be favored.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - More than a few high-profile stables have called Tampa Bay Downs their winter home - Spendthrift Farm, for example, owned a barn on the backstretch here many years ago. But in those days, many stables treated Tampa Bay Downs as a place to lay up for the winter, to run a few horses and get their youngsters ready for debuts at tracks up north.
In recent years, the policy for distributing stalls has changed, and stabling here for the winter does not mean soaking up some sun and getting some foundation into your horses. It means running them.
NEW ORLEANS - Up on the front end of the $60,000 at Fair Grounds, Warleigh was getting away with murder, running alongside a 40-1 shot named He Flies through a dawdling pace. But Skate Away, a horse Warleigh had beaten twice last summer at Louisiana Downs, took aim on Warleigh in midstretch and wore him down to win the Bradley by a neck.
"He ran the best race of his life," said Skate Away's trainer, Jeff Trosclair. "When you let Warleigh go that slow, and you can go and get him, that's something."
ALBANY, Calif. - Super High ($8) took the lead on the backstretch and was never challenged down the lane as she won the $100,000 by 2 1/2 lengths over Amber Hills at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.
Super High was bred and owned by John Harris's Harris Farms, the owner-breeder of Work the Crowd, for whom the race was named.
Super High sat just off Marty's Zee through a quarter in 22.62 and had the lead after a half in 46.08. She won the one-mile race in 1:36.09.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Sea Span dueled with Mooji Moo through a blistering five furlongs in 57.40 seconds, then shook off that rival in the final furlong to pull away for a 3 3/4-length win in the $60,000 at Tampa Bay Downs.
With Jesus Castanon aboard for his fourth win on the program, Sea Span popped out on top from post 9 in the 10-horse field and battled with Mooji Moo through an opening quarter in 22.28 seconds and a half in 45.16 en route to a final time of 1:10.42 for six furlongs.
It took all 1,014 feet of the Laurel Park stretch, but 6-5 favorite Among My Souvenirs wore down pacesetter Forestier to win the $60,000 by a head.
Forestier, the 8-5 second choice, and jockey Abel Castellano Jr. sprinted clear at the start of the six-furlong Marshua, for 3-year-old fillies. They set fractions of 22.99 and 46.58 and looked home free in midstretch until Among My Souvenirs and jockey Mario Pino nailed them in the final stride. Ask Queenie finished third, six lengths behind Forestier.
