ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Page through the races a second time, and you still will not find a true feature on Arlington's Thursday program.
There hardly is a horse surplus in any part of the country, and a six-day racing week ending Labor Day tapped the local horse population more than a typical Chicago racing week. A high-level turf optional claimer that would have been the feature failed to fill, leaving first-level statebred allowance horses as the day's highlight.
AUBURN, Wash. - It was a day for the record books at Emerald Downs.
Monday's Labor Day program saw Bud Klokstad become the first trainer to saddle 35 stakes winners at the seven-year-old track, while Kevin Radke became the first jockey to ride six winners on a single Emerald card. Most memorably, the day saw Flying Notes, with assists from Klokstad and Radke, turn in what was simply the most astonishing performance in track history in the $125,000 Emerald Downs Breeders' Cup Derby.
Mr Ross, fresh from a five-month layoff, was prominent throughout to win his second consecutive Silver Bullet Centennial Stakes by two lengths over That Tat at Remington Park. It was another head back in third to Medium Rare.
Mr Ross ($4.60) broke sharp in the seven-furlong, $31,050 Silver Bullet, and after dueling through an opening quarter of 22.75 seconds with That Tat, went on to set fractions of 45.02 seconds for the half and 1:08.87 for six furlongs. From there, he completed the course in 1:21.13.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Kid Katabatic boosted his lifetime earnings to $626,815 with a hard-fought win over Work Visa in the $37,804 S.W. Randall Plate at Hastings Park.
Kid Katabatic hooked up with Work Visa at the top of the stretch and they dueled to the wire with Kid Katabatic prevailing by a neck. Kid Katabatic paid a generous $13.70, partly because he was coming off a last-place finish in the B.C. Cup Classic and also because of the sloppy track condition. A 9-year-old gelding, Kid Katabatic had never won on a wet track prior to the Randall.
Out-of-town horses, both of whom were favored, won the holiday turf stakes at Mountaineer Park.
La Reine's Terms ($3.80), a 7-year-old trained by Maryland-based Lawrence Murray and ridden by Delaware Park regular Jeremy Rose, scored his fourth straight stakes win in the $75,000 Labor Day Handicap. He covered a mile over firm turf in 1:33.49 and finished 2 3/4 lengths in front of Magical Madness.
La Reine's Terms is now 12 for 32 lifetime with earnings of more than $445,000. He has won five of his last six starts dating back to September 2001.
LAFAYETTE, La. - Comic Truth picked up his second consecutive stakes win as he crushed 10 rivals in the $50,000 Lafayette Stakes at Evangeline Downs by almost 14 lengths.
Justlikejessejames was a distant second followed by even-money favorite Mighty Merlin, who was also left in Comic Truth's wake when they last met in the Pioneer Stakes at Louisiana Downs on Aug. 11.
AUBURN, Wash. - Flying Notes turned in the most spectacular performance in the track's 7-year history on Monday, winning the $125,000 Emerald Downs Breeders' Cup Derby by 11 1-4 lengths in 1:45.40, just two ticks off Simply Majestic's North American record for 1 1-8 miles on dirt.
DEL MAR, Calif. - A change of blinkers, jockeys, and distance proved a winning combination for Congaree, who made a triumphant return to the winner's circle following Monday's $250,000 .
Congaree had not raced at a distance as short as a flat mile since his maiden victory in February 2001. He was ridden in the Grade 2 race for the first time by Mike Smith, who is increasingly becoming entrenched with trainer Bob Baffert. And Baffert removed the blinkers that Congaree had worn in his most-recent start, when he faded to third after setting a hot pace in the San Diego Handicap.
BENSALEM, Pa. - Harlan's Holiday, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite who hadn't been out since finishing fourth in the Preakness, made a triumphant return to the races Monday by romping to a 4 1/2-length victory in the $500,000 Grade 3 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.
Essence of Dubai finished second, 3 1/4 lengths ahead of Make the Bend, who finished a head in front of Wiseman's Ferry. Matzsayo finished last.
FLORENCE, Ky. - Because it long has been the winter home of Kentucky racing, Turfway Park often is associated with dreary weather and frigid nights.
But Turfway also is the home of September racing in Kentucky, a tradition that sometimes gets lost in the stereotype. Not only is the weather far more hospitable at this time of year, but with so many top stables returning to Kentucky from Saratoga and other summer destinations, the level of competition at Turfway figures to be better this month than at any other time.
