The favored Hirschy ($5), making his second start in 10 days, sat back early before powering to his second straight victory in the $64,300 Cavonnier Juvenile at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Sunday.
Just as he had in his debut, Hirschy settled nicely behind the pacesetting Luck Lasts in the six-furlong stakes race for 2-year-olds. He was fifth in the field of six as Luck Lasts set splits of 23.01 seconds, 46.48, and 59.55 while being pressed by Tupelo Cush.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Tiz Flirtatious has steadily progressed into one of the elite female turf runners in the country, and her breathtaking performance Sunday in the Grade 2, $250,000 John Mabee Stakes at Del Mar surely stamped her as one of the top contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf this fall.
Cat's Holiday went from last to first to win the $75,000 Malvern Rose Stakes by 4 3/4 lengths at Presque Isle Downs on Sunday evening.
Jockey Mario Pino kept his mount at the back of the pack of six Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old fillies early in the race. Pino edged the Graham Motion-trained Cat's Holiday toward the front and took her to the rail entering the far turn. Pino angled his mount out into the stretch, and she exploded when asked, finishing the 1 1/16-mile race over the Tapeta surface in 1:45.83.
No Spin was always prominent for a 2 3/4-length win over Treacherous in the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic on Sunday. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to No It Ain’t in third.
The Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, was doubled in value last month due to an increase in handle at Arapahoe, the Aurora, Colo., track that closes out its season next weekend.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Flay Mignon scored a front-running victory Sunday in the $78,000 Colleen Stakes on the turf at Monmouth Park.
The Colleen is the prep for the meet’s top stakes for 2-year-old fillies, $100,000 Sorority on Sept. 1. Unlike the Colleen, the Sorority is contested on dirt at six furlongs.
It was the third victory of the day for the meet-leading team of trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. and jockey Paco Lopez.
“It’s been a good day,” Plesa said. “It’s been a good meet.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Corfu has shown in a very short span that he’s got two qualities any trainer loves to see in a racehorse: blazing speed and a ton of heart.
Racing for the second time in 17 days, Corfu set a lively pace, then withstood a stretch-long duel to register a game nose decision over the previously undefeated Wired Bryan in Sunday’s $200,000 Saratoga Special.
The win was the fourth on the card for trainer Todd Pletcher, whose Danza also finished a fast-closing third in the Special, and the fifth for jockey John Velazquez.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y – What looked like it could be a coming-out party for the undefeated and untested Fiftyshadesofgold in Sunday’s $200,000 Adirondack Stakes instead turned into a roughly run and tragic edition of the Grade 2 dash for 2-year-old fillies.
Who’s in Town was first across the wire after bravely outlasting Designer Legs following a hotly contested stretch run. But it didn’t take the stewards long to disqualify the apparent winner and place her fourth for impeding the 1-4 Fiftyshadesofgold in late stretch, awarding the still unbeaten Designer Legs the victory.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Even though trainer Carla Gaines is serving a 30-day suspension, she is allowed to attend races, according to the language of her ruling, which was clarified in a series of letters in recent days between the California Horse Racing Board and her attorney, trainer Darrell Vienna.
Plain Ol' Willard made quick work of the field of 3-year-old Ohio-bred horses to win the $50,000 Horizon Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths at Beulah Park on Sunday.
Jockey Gabriel Lagunes had a stout hold on Plain Ol' Willard early in the race, which covered one mile and 70 yards. Lagunes let his mount out a notch on the far turn, and Plain Ol' Willard cruised to the lead easily. After drawing clear by two lengths in upper stretch, the Tony Lowry trainee was kept to task to finish in 1:45.76.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Go Greeley ($4.20) gamely held off a persistent Heart to Heart to notch his second straight stakes win Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Vandal.
Go Greeley set quick fractions in the six-furlong dash for 2-year-olds while being pressed by Heart to Heart, a shipper from Arlington Park. Heart to Heart drew alongside him at the head of the stretch, but Go Greeley dug in through the final furlong to prevail by a nose in 1:10.33.
