Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Party Queen: looks good; is beatable

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Party Queen has the makings of a stakes winner from the looks of her first two starts, both of which were easy come-from-behind victories on the turf. But as bright as Party Queen's future appears, even the filly's trainer, Victoria Oliver, thinks she could prove vulnerable when she races under second level allowance conditions in Wednesday's $36,000 feature at Gulfstream Park.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Big hand for big winner

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Long after the last mutuel ticket had been cashed and the crowd had filed out after watching Harlan's Holiday dominate Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby, the hero of the hour finally left the testing barn and made his way back to his stall in Barn 16. The route home took him past the track kitchen area, located just across the street from trainer Ken McPeek's barn, where a gathering of grooms and hot walkers were celebrating the day's events.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Laurel: Owner completes weekend sweep

Owner Michael Gill, who captured the $50,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial a day earlier with First Amendment, came right back to win the $50,000 Endless Surprise with Rusty Spur at Laurel Park.

Rusty Spur ($5) , the favorite of the six-horse Endless Surprise for male sprinters, was a three-length winner over Deer Run. Rusty Spur was claimed several starts ago for $20,000 and won his first stakes for Gill after finishing second in th Grade 2 General George in his last start.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Sam Houston: Storm Alarm upsets

Storm Alarm, trained by G. Leon Bard, won the $30,000 Texas Heritage for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds at Sam Houston in Houston.

Storm Alarm ($44.20) led from start to finish to win the Texas Heritage by 1 1/4 lengths over Revered Soldier. It was a neck back in third to Padlock. Storm Alarm covered the mile in 1:38.71 under Allen Dupuy. He races for Clayton Atkinson and Trey Malecheck.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Sportsman's: Wired to Fly hangs on

Wired to Fly repelled a challenge from two rivals in the stretch to capture the $100,000 Cicero Handicap for fillies and mares at Sportsman's Park in Cicero, Ill.

Longshot Adam's Time, last at the top of the stretch, fell a head short of the winner. Hattiesburg, the 6-5 favorite, closed for third, beaten less than a length. The winning time for six furlongs over a fast track was 1:12.52.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Laurel: First Amendment wins

First Amendment set some quick early fractions but had enough left in the tank to win Saturday's $50,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

First Amendment defeated P Day by 3 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Johnson, for older males. Lyracist finished third, 1 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up.

Owned by Michael Gill, First Amendment, a 5-year-old, completed the distance in 1:49.35 over a fast track after clicking off fractions of 23.31 seconds, 46.62, and 1:11.15.

First Amendment ($14.60) is trained by Mark Shuman.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Turfway: Double Affair in a thriller

Saturday's $50,000 Tejano Run Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., appeared contentious on paper, and proved competitive on the track.

Three horses finished nearly together, with Double Affair eking out a head victory over Frazee's Folly and Two Point Two Mill.

Jockey Jeff Johnston squeezed Double Affair through an opening on the rail in the stretch, and he caught pacesetter Frazee's Folly in the final strides.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Ask Me No Secrets is a late bloomer

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Ask Me No Secrets was worth waiting for. The filly, who did not make it to the races until late last year because of physical setbacks, rewarded the patience of her owner and breeder, Earl Shultz, by winning the Grade 3, $200,000 Oaklawn Breeders' Cup last Saturday in just her fifth career start.

The victory was her first in a stakes, and her third overall, and it enhanced her already significant residual value as a daughter of Seattle Slew and the Secretariat mare In On the Secret.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Mayakovsky's man moving to N.Y.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Trainer Patrick Biancone calls Gotham Stakes winner Mayakovsky "a New Yorker living in California." That is about to change. When Biancone ships Mayakovsky back to New York for the Grade 1 Wood Memorial on April 13, both horse and trainer will become New Yorkers. Biancone said Monday that he is moving his California-based stable to New York, where he will have a 10-horse string at Belmont Park.

Mon, 03/18/2002 - 00:00

Tampa Bay: Equality looks impressive

Equality may be headed for bigger and better things after scoring his first stakes victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.

Trainer Graham Motion said he will have to think seriously about giving Equality a shot against some of the top 3-year-olds in the country, perhaps in next month's Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.