DEL MAR, Calif. - A longshot winner in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks - Golden Apples ($44) - helped to create a pick six carryover of $180,094 on Sunday at Del Mar.
Sunday's program, which begins at 12:30 p.m., features the $1 million Pacific Classic, the richest race of the meeting, and a guaranteed pick six pool of $1 million.
The pick six promotion was in place before the pool carried over from Saturday's races, and now there is little doubt it will hit seven-figures on its own.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Five days after she arrived from Europe, Golden Apples pulled a major upset in Saturday's $300,000 Del Mar Oaks.
Rallying six-wide throught the stretch, Golden Apples ($44) won her first stakes in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, which her first start for owner Gary Tanaka and trainer Ben Cecil. She was bought privately last month, and joined Cecil's stable on Wednesday after clearing quarantine.
Ridden by Garrett Gomez, Golden Apples ran 1 1-8 miles on turf in 1:47.98 before an ontrack crowd of 18,474.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Andreas Suborics had never ridden in the United States. Trainer Andreas Wohler had never started a horse in the United States. And no German horse had ever captured the Arlington Million.
But Wohler brought Silvano to the Million in perfect fashion, Suborics gave the horse a perfect ride, and Silvano gave his German owners, Gestut Fahrhof Siftung, a Million trophy, with an authoritative three-length win over Hap. Pacesetting Redattore finished third, and for the second straight year, Bienamado finished unplaced as the Million favorite.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The last time heavy rain visited Arlington on Million Day, conditions were so bad that Shug McGaughey scratched his star turf horse, Lure, from the Million.
That was in 1993. On Saturday, Lure's daughter England's Legend scored a belated but spectacular triumph for her sire, romping to a front-running, 7 3/4-length victory over a yielding course in the $700,000 Beverly D. at Arlington Park.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - As bad as they felt after Astra flopped in the Beverly D., that's how good the connections of Startac felt after the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes was run Saturday.
Startac, carrying the colors of the Allen Paulson Living Trust and trained by Simon Bray, was up in the final jump under Alex Solis to nail Strut the Stage in the 25th running of the definitive midsummer race for 3-year-old turf horses. The first two finishers are sons of Theatrical, the champion turf horse of 1987 owned by the Paulsons.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Flute took command of the Alabama right from the start, and with her victory in the Grade 1 race took command of the 3-year-old filly division.
Somewhat surprisingly, Flute outsprinted her six rivals to the front entering the first turn and then proceeded to lead at every call in winning the $750,000 Alabama by 4 3/4 lengths before 35,616 fans Saturday at Saratoga.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Pure Precision completed a sweep of Monmouth's 2-year-old stakes for males Saturday. The George Steinbrenner-owned colt captured the Grade 3 $150,000 Sapling, the premier race for juvenile colts here, by 1 1/4 lengths over even-money favorite Truman's Raider in front of a crowd of 13,047.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Lewinski will likely be favored in Tuesday's first running of the $50,000 Golden Horseshoe. One of Fort Erie's seven new stakes this year, the event is restricted to fillies and mares, 3 years old and upward. Ten runners are scheduled to compete over seven furlongs on grass.
MIAMI - Puchungo shook up the local handicap division in late June when he upset Hal's Hope in the Primal Handicap. On Monday, the Peruvian-bred Puchungo will attempt to prove that victory was no fluke when he takes on six rivals, including Dancing Guy, in the $32,000 Higgler Handicap at 1 1/16 miles.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Victory Ride, the dominant winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes last month, broke her right front leg while working out Saturday morning at Saratoga. Although the injury is not life-threatening, it could end her career.
Victory Ride was scheduled to be operated on by Dr. Larry Bramlage on Sunday at an equine hospital on the grounds of Saratoga. Bramlage, in town for Sunday's Jockey Club Round Table, was scheduled to insert three or four screws into the cannon bone.
