ARCADIA, Calif. - A bob of the head was the difference between No Slip and Sligo Bay in the $150,000 Oak Tree Derby at Santa Anita. The pair traded leads in the final few strides, but No Slip had his head down at the finish. The official margin was a nose after 1 1/8 miles on turf.
MIAMI - Booklet dominated the In Reality, the final leg of the open division of the Florida Stallion Series, with a 4 1/4-length victory over Rulebook and 12 other 2-year-old colts and geldings at Calder on Saturday.
Carey's Gold finished third in his quest to become only the sixth horse to sweep the Stallion Series.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Some may call them crazy. But they really like this fox.
Debbie and Dennis Petrisak were thisclose to selling their undefeated New York-bred 2-year-old filly Shesastonecoldfox to Prestonwood Farm over the weekend. Instead of consummating the deal Monday with Art Preston - who flew to New York from Texas on Sunday - the Petrisaks were waiting for the Breeders' Cup offices to open to deliver personally their $10,000 pre-entry fee for the $1 million Juvenile Fillies on Oct. 27.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Madame Red had finished last of five as the odds-on favorite at Woodbine in the Sept. 30 prep for Sunday's La Lorgnette Stakes.
But when the chips were down in the La Lorgnette, Madame Red totally dominated her rivals, giving trainer Bob Tiller his 11th stakes win of the meeting.
Tiller, who trains La Lorgnette for the Norseman Racing Stable of Howard Walton, said he couldn't find anything physically wrong with her after the poor effort in the prep.
CHICAGO - The puzzle presented in Curious Conundrum's form may not be so hard to assemble after all. The fact that she suffered a bad loss in her last start is dwarfed by the fact that she moves from a pair of graded stakes into a soft-looking second-level allowance race. When the pieces finally fit together, Curious Conundrum looks like the horse to beat in Arlington's Wednesday feature.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Until Craig Perret rode 14-1 shot Dancing Missile to victory in the last race, the two leading jockeys at the Keeneland fall meet had kept everything for themselves on Sunday's card.
Pat Day had four winners, and so did Robby Albarado. If either Day, riding 4-1 Storm Craft, or Albarado, aboard 7-1 Homem Ra, had been able to win the finale, it would have been the first time in Keeneland history that two jockeys had teamed to sweep a nine-race card. But Storm Craft finished third, and Homem Ra was 10th.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A sharp Devil Valentine should be tough at a short price in Wednesday's $108,600 Deputy Minister Stakes, a seven-furlong dash for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
Devil Valentine looked like a serious Queen's Plate prospect last fall, winning the Kingarvie Stakes and running second in the important Coronation Futurity. But he was a big disappointment after coming off the shelf in May, finishing well back in two stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Patrick Valenzuela appeared before the Santa Anita board of stewards on Sunday, requesting an exercise rider's license that could lead to him resuming his riding career.
Valenzuela and his lawyer, Donald Calabria, met with stewards Pete Pedersen, Ingrid Fermin, and Tom Ward for approximately 45 minutes, according to Calabria.
The winning rider in the 1989 Kentucky Derby, Valenzuela has not ridden since February 2000, when he received a one-year suspension for a substance abuse violation. Last February, his request to be relicensed was rejected.
Adorable One just beat a similar field at Santa Anita and should be the one to beat in Wednesday's featured seventh race. The six-furlong first-level allowance/$40,000 optional claiming race is for 3-year-old fillies and drew a strong field of 11.
Adorable One is still eligible for the first-level condition because the allowance race she won last out at Santa Anita was restricted to California-breds and does not count against her conditions. Adorable One has made only four starts thus far in her career and has enjoyed great success.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Fancy As, a $3,200 yearling purchase, staked his claim to the Sovereign Award for the best 3-year-old in Canada with a convincing win over Lord Nelson in the Grade 3, 1 3/8-mile Premier's Stakes at Hastings Park on Sunday.
A Manitoba-bred gelding with an obscure pedigree, Fancy As will likely receive all of the Western votes for the Sovereign Award. He won the Canadian and B.C. Derbies and followed up with his impressive win over older horses in the Premier's.