GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Spring Meadow, an impressive debut winner this winter at Santa Anita, became a stakes winner Saturday when she held off a late bid by Gilded Wings to win the $150,000 Stonerside at Lone Star Park.
Savorthetime, who dueled through fast early fractions with Storm Witch, finished 3 1/2 lengths back in third.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Despite his undefeated record on the turf, including a win in the Grade 3 Oceanport Handicap here last year, Key Lory was sent off in the Grade 3 Red Bank Handicap as the fourth choice at 4-1. But the 8-year-old proved once again that he is a turf horse to be feared, as he took the lead out of the gate and never relinquished it, defeating seven other horses in the $100,000 Red Bank on Saturday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Cast all those doubts aside. Take Charge Lady, showing no effects from a lung infection that kept her out of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, loped home a 1 3/4-length winner Saturday in the 28th running of the $109,500 Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
A horse infected with rabies died at Penn National Race Course on May 12. Bold Naskra, a 7-year-old horse in trainer Bruno Bellucci's barn, showed symptoms of rabies and was placed in quarantine before he died. As a precaution, two stable employees were given rabies shots.
Bellucci claimed Bold Naskra for $10,000 at Philadelphia Park on April 8. He ran fourth at that track in his last start on April 28.
STICKNEY, Ill. - Flamin' Jolie flamed out in his last two starts, but his connections remain excited about the late-blooming 5-year-old gelding's potential, and hope to move him into graded stakes races this summer. But to get there, Flamin' Jolie needs to rebound from a pair of subpar races. To start, he runs in Hawthorne's Monday feature, a fourth-level turf allowance with a $50,000 claiming option.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Immediately after the Preakness, in which Medaglia d'Oro finished a well-beaten eighth as the 3-1 second choice, trainer Bobby Frankel said a start in the Belmont Stakes was not in the offing.
"I will give him a month or so off and then try the turf," Frankel was quoted as saying.
But, when Frankel arrived in New York Sunday morning, he had a new take on things. And, while he hasn't officially declared Medaglia d'Oro a starter for the June 8 Belmont Stakes, he has become more open-minded about the idea of running.
Live racing will no longer be offered at Fairplex Park in Pomona if the California Horse Racing Board approves a request by the Los Angeles County Fair to relocate its racing dates to Santa Anita this September, according to a top fair official.
On Thursday, officials with the Los Angeles County Fair Association announced they had reached an agreement with Magna Entertainment, the parent company of Santa Anita, to change the venue of the fair meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 13-29.
ELMONT, N.Y. - I'm All Yours, the champion New York-bred male turf horse of 2001, begins defense of his title Sunday when he heads an overflow field entered in the $75,000 Kingston Handicap at Belmont. A field of 14 was entered for the nine-furlong turf race, but the race will be limited to 10 starters.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pompeii has been mostly dormant since her explosive Grade 1 victory last summer at Saratoga. But Sunday, the 5-year-old mare will make just her second start in seven months when she will be a prohibitive favorite in the feature race at Churchill Downs, a $62,400 allowance at 1 1/16 miles.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Speed handicappers may disagree with trainer Jean-Pierre Dupuis, whose 2-year-old Expression dashed 4 1/2 furlongs in 51.36 seconds, fastest of the Hollywood Park spring-summer meet.
"I don't pay much attention to time, the track was pretty fast that day," said Dupuis. So was Expression, and for that reason he will be favored Sunday in the Willard Proctor Memorial Stakes. At five furlongs, the $65,000-added sprint is all about speed and final time. The key to beating Expression? Run faster.
