ALTOONA, Iowa - Sand Ridge ($18.80) rallied from last and caught Boots on Sunday in the final stride to score a nose victory in the $150,000 Iowa Sprint Championship at Prairie Meadows.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Richard Mandella ended a three-month stakes drought when The Tin Man won Thursday's $150,000 at Hollywood Park.

But before the losing streak officially ended, Mandella had to sweat through a stewards' inquiry regarding a bumping incident in the final furlong.

In the end, the judges ruled that The Tin Man ($10.40) did not interfere with Devine Wind, even though the two made contact.

"During the race, I didn't think I had anything to worry about," Mandella said.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Belle Artiste sat behind slow fractions under jockey Jose Velez Jr. and came charging down the middle of the track to win the $50,000 West Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth by two lengths over True Rose. Superfines Luvey was third.

The Rusty Arnold-trained Belle Artiste ($8.60) covered six furlongs in 1:11.08 over a fast track before a crowd of 10,832. Friday was her first trip to Monmouth, and with her first stakes victory she improved to 5-1-1 in 12 lifetime starts for owner John Peace.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Volponi, who hadn't raced on the turf in a year, posted an upset in Friday's Grade 3, $111,200 at Belmont Park with a 2 1/4-length victory.

Saint Verre finished second and Navesink was a neck back in third in the mile turf race. Shibboleth, the odds-on favorite and 122-pound highweight, finished fifth in the seven-horse field after tiring in the final furlong.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Heavyweight Champ, stakes-placed in three graded races last year, makes his 3-year-old debut at Belmont Park in Sunday's seventh race, a second-level allowance. Heavyweight Champ meets six rivals in the six-furlong race.

Last year, Heavyweight Champ, a speedy Two Punch colt, won two of six starts, with both wins coming at Belmont. He also finished third in the Grade 1 Champagne, second in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, and third in the Grade 2 Sanford.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Gerosa has always shown a world of potential, but serious injuries have plagued this talented 5-year-old his whole career. With his gutsy victory Thursday - his first race in more than one year - the undefeated Gerosa may finally be past his problems and have the opportunity to consistently display the talent he has flashed in his few starts.

Given the depth of talent among the regular riders at Delaware Park this season, the race for leading jockey was expected to be extremely competitive.

Ramon Dominguez, however, has turned things into a rout.

Competing against such accomplished jockeys as Mike McCarthy, Jeremy Rose, Anthony Black, and Eddie Martin, the 25-year-old Dominguez is head and shoulders above the rest of the jockey colony.

CHICAGO - Figuring out the Bowl Game Stakes seems fairly straightforward. If Galic Boy is ready to roll after nearly five months on the sidelines, he will probably win.

Galic Boy faces six horses Sunday at Arlington in the $45,000-added Bowl Game, a turf race at 1 1/16 miles. A 7-year-old Irish River horse bred and owned by Arthur Appleton, Galic Boy has established himself as a solid turf horse in the listed stakes to Grade 3 level, winning 10 of 33 starts and more than $383,000 in his career.

PLEASANTON, Calif. - If trainer Fred Costa is correct, he may surprise a few people in Sunday's $50,000 Alamedan Handicap on closing day at the Alameda County Fair.

Costa is sending out an entry in the 1 1/16-mile race, and he's confident one of his horses will be in front at some point during the race.

Fight for Silver should be the speed of the race, and Ironman Dehere, who won the Pleasanton Stakes here last year as a 3-year-old, will be coming from off the pace.

EDMONTON, Alberta - The Ky Alta, which will be featured at Northlands Park next Saturday, presents a number of interesting scenarios.

The Ky Alta, a $40,000 handicap for 3-year-olds, will revive the rivalry between Sid Gray's 2001 Alberta champion 2-year-old Dance Me Free and the runner-up in the voting, Crescent Remark.

Before Crescent Remark jumped up in the season finale to upset Dance Me Free in the $50,000 Canadian Juvenile, Dance Me Free had built up sufficient credits by sweeping the Edmonton Juvenile, Sales Stake, and Birdcatcher.