ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Full of Wonder notched his first stakes under Todd Kabel Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 1, $324,400 .
"He ran a very powerful race," said Kabel. "It seems like the farther he goes, the better it is for him."
Full of Wonder trailed the nine-horse field early in the 1 1/2-mile turf race, as Stage Classic led while being pressed by Attest, Sumati and Moontazz.
DEL MAR, Calif. - An upset win by Miss Houdini in Saturday's $250,000 gave jockey Gary Stevens his biggest win of the meeting in his second day back following knee surgery.
Stevens, who missed a month after having bone chips removed from a knee, was a replacement rider for Eddie Delahoussaye, who was shaken up in a spill on Friday and did not ride over the weekend.
Miss Houdini ($24.80) ran seven furlongs in 1:23.43. She is unbeaten in two starts, having won a maiden race at Hollywood Park on July 13 for owner Bo Hirsch and trainer Warren Stute.
SAN MATEO - Favored Channing Way ($4.80) defeated Onslaught by a neck as she went wire-to-wire to capture the six-furlong Mae De Vol Sprint at Bay Meadows on Saturday as she won her third straight stakes. Winning time was 1:10.31.
Channing Way was five wide early down the backstretch and had a head advantage over Bigboystoy as the field of six fillies and mares entered the turn. She opened a 2.5-length lead into the stretch over Onslaught who rallied wide to move into second.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Making the jump from a maiden win straight into stakes company is usually a formidable proposition. But Ibn Al Haitham was not your run-of-the-mill maiden when he raced on the grass for the first time and posted a convincing 9 1/2-length victory earlier in the meet.
Ibn Al Haitham was already
DEL MAR, Calif. - A new jockey and a shorter race may help Congaree find the winner's circle in Monday's $250,000 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap.
After two disappointing performances by Congaree this summer, trainer Bob Baffert is willing to try nearly anything to revive the career of the 4-year-old Congaree, one of the top 3-year-olds of 2001. For the first time, Congaree will be ridden by Mike Smith in the one-mile Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap.
The Meadowlands, which for 25 years has almost exclusively conducted night racing at its Thoroughbred meet, breaks from tradition when the 62-day meet opens on Monday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Seventeen day programs, including five Mondays and 11 Tuesdays, are scheduled. The other day card is this Thursday. The 45 evening programs begin at 7:30 p.m.
With Mondays and Tuesdays generally dark days at Belmont Park in New York, The Meadowlands could be in a good position to capitalize on the absence of that popular simulcast signal.
BENSALEM, Pa. - A fever will keep Magic Weisner from running in Monday's $500,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.
Owner-trainer Nancy Alberts said she noticed something amiss with Magic Weisner at feed time Friday afternoon when he was moping around his Laurel Park stall and laid down. He had a temperature of 102 degrees - about two degrees above normal, said Alberts, who had the horse treated with antibiotics. On Saturday morning, Alberts said the horse still had the temperature.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Next Saturday's Grade 1 Woodward Stakes offers a $500,000 purse and is one of the most prestigious races in the country. But only defending champion Lido Palace and either Godolphin's E Dubai or Express Tour were confirmed starters as of Saturday.
E Dubai's status remains questionable because of a bruised foot that has forced him to miss training since his three-quarters of a length victory over Lido Palace in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap on July 6 at Belmont.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Sky Mesa may have established himself as the early favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with an impressive 1 3/4-length victory over Pretty Wild in Saturday's $250,000 at Saratoga. Zavata, the 1-5 favorite, finished third after encountering trouble during the early stages of the Grade 1 event.
Sky Mesa, a son of Pulpit out of Caress, paid $9.80. He covered seven furlongs in 1:23.08 over a fast track under leading rider Edgar Prado. Sky Mesa is owned by John Oxley and trained by John Ward Jr.
