DEL MAR, Calif. – Sarach is headed to Keeneland this fall after winning her second stakes of 2013 in Friday’s $95,700 Sandy Blue Handicap at Del Mar.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In winning her last two starts, both overnight stakes restricted to New York-breds at seven furlongs, Clear Pasaj was able to secure a comfortable early lead and had enough to hold on at the wire.
Easy Crossing and Anyriderill Do, both of whom have picked up small pieces of stakes purses at least twice in their careers, will look to regain some confidence by dropping in class for Tuesday night’s $41,000 turf feature at Indiana Downs. They top a 12-horse field in the fifth race, a one-mile grass race open to second-level allowance runners and $40,000 claimers.
Sharp Act didn’t break as sharply as usual and ended up being stuck behind a slow pace when she finished fourth as the favorite in a $12,000 claiming race for 3-year-old fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs at Northlands Park on Aug. 12. She could make amends when she returns in a similar spot in the first race at Northlands Monday.
Post time for the first of seven races is 1 p.m. Mountain.
South American import Brujo de Olleros just missed in a $100,000 stakes while making his first start in 9 1/2 months. Given ample time to recuperate from that effort, he will look to build upon his solid performance for new Team Valor International trainer Rick Mettee in Monday’s $50,000 Carl Hanford Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park. The Hanford was orignally scheduled for last Wednesday but that card was canceled due to local flooding.
OPELOUSAS, La. - Jockey Joe Patin Jr. was taken off the Evangeline Downs grounds in handcuffs Friday night after an altercation with fellow rider Diego Saenz following the evening’s seventh race. Patin was disqualified from first to fourth in the race while on board El Woodrow after the Evangeline board of stewards ruled that he impeded Saenz when angling out in the stretch. Saenz’s mount, 6-5 favorite Salty Lydgate, clipped heels and stumbled as a result and eventually crossed the wire in fourth.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The pick six paid $58,612 at Del Mar on Friday.
The bet began with a carryover of $110,122 from Thursday. Bettors added a strong figure of $886,620 on Friday.
The winners of Friday’s pick six races were Great Friends Rule ($12.80), Yodel Up a Storm ($3.40), Rosies Ready ($20.40), Romance Is Sosa ($7.20), Sarach ($8.20), and Backintheacademy ($25.80).
Backintheacademy is trained by Felipe Souza, who recorded his first career win in the seventh race, run over 1 1/16 miles for maiden claimers.
DEL MAR, Calif. - A patient ride by jockey Martin Garcia helped Sarach win her second stakes of 2013 in Friday’s $95,700 Sandy Blue Handicap at Del Mar.
Sarach won the Grade 2 Honeymoon Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park in June by leading throughout the turf race over 1 1/8 miles under Garcia. In the Sandy Blue, Garcia used stalking tactics to win the one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies.
Hes Relentless and Wagon Tales emerged as the fastest qualifiers for the Grade 1, $2.6 million All American Futurity for Quarter Horses after two days of trials for the Labor Day Classic. The 28 qualifying heats drew 280 entrants and spanned Thursday and Friday at Ruidoso Downs, and the horses with the five fastest times from each day earned one of 10 spots in the finale. It was the first time the trials had been divided over two programs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Tell a Great Story will be scratched out of Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga after breaking out in hives Friday morning, according to a press release on the website of Sagamore Farm, which owns the 3-year-old filly.
