LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Lead Story was up in the final yards Saturday to give trainer Carl Nafzger his second straight upset in the $225,400 .
Ridden by Calvin Borel, who escaped injury in a spill Thursday at Churchill, Lead Story returned $73.60 to win after surging past Awesome Humor for a half-length victory in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff.
"That's the ups and downs of this game," said Borel.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Lennyfromalibu provided the shock result of the California Cup with a front-running win in the $175,000 Mile.
Tenth in the 2002 Cal Cup Mile, Lennyfromalibu was allowed to set slow fractions of 23.74 and 47.77 seconds before repelling Menacing Dennis and pulling clear to win by two lengths.
Ridden by Ryan Fogelsonger Lennyfromalibu ($52.20) ran a mile on turf in 1:34.84 to score his first stakes win.
"He was out there cruising so easy," Fogelsonger said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - House of Fortune caught a stubborn Silent Sighs in deep stretch to win her second stakes of the fall in Saturday's $125,000 California Cup Juvenile Fillies.
House of Fortune finished 1 1/16 miles in a quick 1:42.61, winning by a half-length.
Ridden by Alex Solis, House of Fortune ($5.60) was always well-placed after being bumped at the start. House of Fortune was fifth on the first turn, moved closer to the front on the backstretch and engaged pacesetter Silent Sighs on the final turn.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The former claimer Green Team continued his meteoric rise in the California sprint division with a stakes-record performance in Saturday's $150,000 California Cup Sprint Handicap, one of 10 races on the 14th California Cup card at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.
Blind Ambition, a lightly raced 5-year-old mare, gave jockey Julie Krone and breeder Harris Farms their second wins on California Cup Day with a convincing score in the $150,000 Distaff.
Blind Ambition rallied from eighth to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Bold Roberta.
Sent off as the slight favorite in the field of 12, Blind Ambition ($6.80) was timed in 1:12.27 for about 6 1/2 furlongs on turf.
Bold Roberta, a two-time stakes winner at Fairplex Park in September, finished a half-length in front of Sweetcakesanshakes, who was third.
After chasing the likes of Adoration, Got Koko, Elloluv, and Azeri in her last two starts, Royally Chosen found the competition in the $150,000 Cal Cup Matron Handicap far more to her liking. She rolled to a 3 1/2-length victory over Summer Wind Dancer.
Royally Chosen usually finds herself on the lead, but that spot this day was taken by Super High, the race's defending champion. Royally Chosen handled the situation well. Jockey Alex Solis got her to relax despite a moderate pace, and when Royally Chosen took over at the top of the stretch, she did it with authority.
Moscow Burning, claimed for $25,000 at the San Mateo County Fair at Bay Meadows in August, won her third consecutive start and her stakes debut in Saturday's $100,000 California Cup Distance Handicap.
Ridden by Ryan Fogelsonger, Moscow Burning ($14) ran 1 1/4 miles on turf in 2:00.91. Always near the front, Moscow Burning took the lead in early stretch and pulled clear to finish 2 1/2 lengths in front of 17-1 Ardum Relaunch.
Coconut Mango was the fairest of them all in the $50,000 Cal Cup Starter Sprint Handicap, but he did not like the mirror on the wall. Just as he approached the finish of the six-furlong race, the outcome no longer in doubt, Coconut Mango leaped awkwardly over a reflection from the photo finish mirror, but jockey Julie Krone never came out of her irons.
STICKNEY, Ill. - Win pictures from stakes races cover the walls of trainer Tony Mitchell's Hawthorne barn office. Make room for another one. Wiggins capped a three-win day for Mitchell in the Illinois Festival of Racing on Saturday at Hawthorne with an easy front-running victory in the $111,600 Robert F. Carey II Handicap.
