ARCADIA, Calif. - The victory of Atlantic Ocean on Sunday bodes well for Major Idea in Wednesday's $75,000 Blue Norther Stakes at Santa Anita.
The two fillies, both owned by The Thoroughbred Corp., were entrymates in the $200,000 Miesque Stakes at a mile on turf at Hollywood Park on Nov. 29, with Atlantic Ocean winning and Major Idea finishing third.
The Miesque result looked strong when Atlantic Ocean returned on Sunday and won the Santa Ysabel Stakes on dirt for trainer Bob Baffert.
Mark Johnston, a former Eclipse Award winner and the third all-time leading jockey in Maryland, has decided to take a leave of absence from riding.
"It's just time to step back and regroup," said Johnston, 32, whose 2,748 career victories at Pimlico and Laurel Park rank behind only Mario Pino and Edgar Prado. "I have been burned out before but somehow managed to work through it. I need to step away from the game and come back fresh."
The official order of the first two finishers in the eighth race at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., on Dec. 22 has been reversed after it was determined that the track's placing judges posted the wrong horse as the winner. A stewards' ruling correcting the order of finish was issued Dec. 29.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Lizzy Cool kept trainer Bob Barbara white-hot with a front-running, three-quarter-length victory in the $80,425 Ruthless Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
The victory was the second straight for Lizzy Cool since adding blinkers, and the ninth from 17 starters for Barbara since the inner track opened on Dec. 4.
Champali edged clear in the final strides to win the $50,000 Turfway Prevue Stakes for 3-year-olds by a nose over the previously unbeaten Great Notion. Ridden by James Lopez, Champali pressured Great Notion from the outset and gradually worked his way past in the stretch. He ran 6 1/2 furlongs in the mud in 1:17.53 and paid $4.60.
Champali is 4-0-0 in five starts and has earned $155,874.
ALBANY, Calif. - Apprentice jockey Belen Quinonez knows his way around a racetrack.
Quinonez, 23, is now starting to learn his way around northern California.
Quinonez picked up his first victory at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday with a patient, ground-saving trip aboard Repayma in a $12,500 claimer at one mile.
"That was really nice," said Quinonez, who finished ninth in the standings at Remington Park with 26 victories before heading west.
The victory came in his ninth ride here.
"I didn't come here and expect to win, win, win," Quinonez said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Victories in maiden races over the weekend left the trainers of Atswhatimtalknbout and Ten Most Wanted dreaming of more significant races in coming months.
Both lightly raced colts won as favorites - Atswhatimtalknbout in a six-furlong sprint on Saturday and Ten Most Wanted in a one-mile race on Sunday.
The rally that carried Atswhatimtalknbout from 10th to the front in the final quarter-mile is hopefully a preview of what's to come for the colt, owned by B. Wayne Hughes and trained by Ron Ellis.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A little more than three years after training champion sprinter Artax, and 14 months after taking what he thought was "a chance of a lifetime," Louis Albertrani is starting over again.
Albertrani, 45, has a four-horse stable based at Belmont Park, with a couple of claiming horses and a pair of New York-bred maiden 3-year-olds. Wise N Valid, a 3-year-old daughter of Valid Expectations, makes her second start for Albertrani in Wednesday's fourth race at Aqueduct, a maiden $50,000 claiming race.
ALBANY, Calif. - Bob's Lady ($5.60) got a dream trip sitting last behind a brisk early pace before rallying in the lane and pulling away to win the $100,000 Work The Crowd Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday.
Demo Memo raced to the front entering the first turn as favored Brite Sunny Day conceded the lead to her in the one-mile race for Cal-bred fillies and mares.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Atlantic Ocean scored her third career stakes win in Sunday's $110,900 at Santa Anita, beating a field that lacked any other graded stakes winners.
Sent off as the favorite in a field of six 3-year-old fillies, Atlantic Ocean overcome trouble on the first turn to reach a stalking position on the backstretch behind pacesetter Harbor Blues. On the final turn, Atlantic Ocean rallied three-wide to challenge Harbor Blues, took the lead in the final furlong and held off the late challenge of Sea Jewel and Summer Wind Dancer through the stretch.
