ELMONT, N.Y. - Getting to Belmont Park for Monday's $750,000, Grade 1 was the hardest part for Swept Overboard.
Once in New York, Swept Overboard made a mockery of a stellar Met Mile field, taking control leaving the five-sixteenths pole and drawing clear to a 4 3/4-length victory over Aldebaran before 20,548 at Belmont Park on Memorial Day. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Crafty C.T.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Evening Attire signaled his readiness for Saturday's $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap on Monday by drilling five furlongs in 59.07 seconds over Belmont Park's main track. It was the fastest of 17 works at the distance by 1.70 seconds.
"We're getting close, we need to be ready to go," trainer Pat Kelly said of the fast move.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The handicap division has a new player in Congaree, who won his comeback from a 10-month layoff wire-to-wire in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.
The 1 1/16-mile race was the colt's first since finishing third in the Grade 1 Jim Dandy last August, and was one of seven stakes worth $1 million at Lone Star Park on Monday.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Emergency Status, the longest shot in the field at 55-1, set slow fractions on the lead in Monday's Grade 3, $100,000 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park, and had more than enough left in the tank down the stretch to win his first graded stakes by three lengths.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A new career path put Captain Squire in the winner's circle of the $150,000 at Hollywood Park.
After running a mile or farther for most of his career, Captain Squire reverted to sprinting and pulled an upset at 14-1.
Ridden by Chance Rollins, Captain Squire ($30.60) fought for the lead throughout seven furlongs to prevail by a neck in 1:21.95. The victory in the Grade 2 Barrera was the richest in the career of trainer Jeff Mullins and owners Bob Bone and Jeff Deiner.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Posse made amends for his defeat on Kentucky Derby Day when he easily turned back Del Diablo to post a 3 1/2-length victory as the odds-on favorite Monday in the $160,000 Kentucky Breeders' Cup Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Always prominent under Donnie Meche, Posse ($3.60) put away Dibs after turning for home in the 5 1/2-furlong race for 2-year-olds, then pulled away with minimal urging after Del Diablo moved to challenge in midstretch.
Blackjack Boy made a mild late run to finish third, another 2 1/2 lengths behind Del Diablo in a field of eight.
The last time Joe's Son Joey and Texas Glitter faced each other, Joe's Son Joey came up a head short.
Six weeks later, they met again in the $100,000 Turf Monster Handicap at Philadelphia Park. This time, Joe's Son Joey got the job done.
Veteran jockey Nick Santagata sent Joe's Son Joey ($7.60) into a narrow opening between 4-5 favorite Texas Glitter and Rudirudy, and his mount responded to get up by three-quarters of a length in the five-furlong turf sprint.
Mus-If finished first in the $50,000 C. Edmund O'Brien Stakes at Pimlico, but his connections had to sweat out a 15-minute delay until the result was declared official.
Mus-If ($2.20), ridden by Mario Pino, stalked Clever Quoit all the way to the far turn in 1 1/16-mile race. Just as Pino asked Mus-If to go after the leader, Phi Beta Doc and jockey Mark Johnston, had to check and Trooper Red and rider Art Madrid were swept to the outside.
The stewards called for an inquiry and after considerable delay, there was no change in the order of finish.
Perfect Drift, who finished third to War Emblem and Proud Citizen in the Kentucky Derby, continued his strong series of training in preparation for a rematch with those two in the June 8 Belmont Stakes by working a sharp six furlongs in 1:12.80 on Monday morning.
