ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Win City collared longshot Wicklow Highlands in deep stretch to capture the Grade 3, $163,800 Autumn Handicap at Woodbine on Saturday.
Wicklow Highlands led the way through splits of 23.93 seconds, 47.60, and 1:11.76 in the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up. Win City raced well off the early lead, and was three lengths back of favored Kiss a Native on the backstretch.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Watch, a classy and consistent filly but until Saturday never a graded stakes winner, got a perfect trip under Craig Perret to win the 28th running of the Cardinal Handicap at Churchill Downs.
Watch, trained by Frank Brothers, finished a length ahead of 25-1 shot Sitka in the $169,350, Grade 3 Cardinal. Gino's Spirits, who had traffic trouble in the stretch, was another nose back in third.
Babae, the 11-10 favorite in a field of nine fillies and mares, had no apparent excuse, running sixth.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Spook Express is California-bound.
After briefly considering a trip to Japan for the Japan Cup, trainer Tom Skiffington will stick with his original plan of running Spook Express - the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf - in the $500,000, Grade 1 Matriarch at Hollywood Park on Nov. 25. Spook Express was to be flown to California on Monday, with Hollywood Derby hopeful Reduit and The Parting Glass, who will run in an allowance race.
MIAMI - Trainer Marty Wolfson is considering the $200,000 Remsen Stakes for Rulebook, his improving 2-year-old who finished a wide-running second behind even-money favorite Booklet in the In Reality Stakes at Calder on Oct. 13.
"It all depends on who goes in there," Wolfson said during training hours on Saturday. "I think there's a pretty good shot the race could come up with a short field. I guess there's a chance Booklet could run, although the one I don't want to face is Bill Mott's undefeated colt Listen Here."
MIAMI, Fla. - Trainer Ron Spatz maintained all along that Mountain Forum would be a better horse once he got on the turf, and his assessment proved accurate when the colt rallied to a neck victory over 25-1 Breakfast in Maui in Saturday's $60,000 Fabulous Frolic Stakes, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-olds.
The Fabulous Frolic shared billing on Saturday's card with the $60,000 Lulu's Ransom Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at a mile on turf, which was won by August Storm. A New Jersey invader, August Storm scored a three-length victory as the favorite over the 21-1 Social Place.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The twists of racing seemingly never cease. Niall O'Callaghan merely wanted to bring Tijiyr back to the races in an allowance earlier this week, but when the race came up too tough, O'Callaghan settled instead for the Grade 3 River City Handicap at Churchill Downs.
On Sunday, when Tijiyr makes his first start in over five months in the $150,000-added River City, O'Callaghan is optimistic that he will have made the right call.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The last time trainers Simon Bray and Laura de Seroux made news together was late August, when the Allen Paulson Living Trust yanked nine of its runners from Bray - including Grade 1 winners Astra and Startac - and transferred them to de Seroux.
While neither trainer has won a stakes since the controversial transfer, that could change Sunday at Hollywood Park. Bray and de Seroux start 118-pound co-highweights Fighting Falcon and Agol Lack, respectively, in the $70,000 Steinlen Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Ten second-tier runners entered.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Platel easily handled Miss Noire in a recent 5 1/2-furlong allowance, the only time they met, but the result could be different Sunday at Woodbine, when they clash again at seven furlongs in the Glorious Song Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
The speedy Platel has won 3 of 4 starts for trainer Vito Armata, who is looking to put the finishing touches on a career year during the final weeks of this long meeting.
