Sat, 04/13/2013 - 18:00

Keeneland: Centre Court delivers as favorite in Grade 1 Jenny Wiley

Coady Photography/Keeneland
Centre Court and jockey Julien Leparoux won the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley by two lengths Saturday at Keeneland.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – For much of Saturday’s $300,000, Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland, the race appeared to be a virtual repeat of last year’s running. Daisy Devine, last year’s front-running winner, was again cruising on the lead, poised to lead throughout.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 17:44

Oaklawn: Get Happy Mister carries speed in Northern Spur

Tom Keyser
The Colorado-bred Get Happy Mister, under Glen Corbett, stretches out to win the one-mile Northern Spur for 3-year-olds.

The connections of Get Happy Mister picked a good time to try their horse at two turns for the first time. Breaking on top in the $100,000 Northern Spur Stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, Get Happy Mister took an early lead and never let it go, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over favored Looking Cool, with Red Wings another 2 1/4 lengths back in third.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 17:42

Apple Blossom: Joe Johnson suspended three days for winning ride aboard On Fire Baby

Tom Keyser
Jockey Joe Johnson was suspended three days on Saturday for his winning ride the previous day in the Apple Blossom Handicap.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A day after winning the first Grade 1 race of his career in the $500,000 Apple Blossom, jockey Joe Johnson was suspended three days by the Oaklawn Park board of stewards for his ride aboard victorious On Fire Baby. The ruling issued Saturday afternoon addresses the run into the first turn of the mile and a sixteenth race that On Fire Baby won wire-to-wire by a half-length, over Tiz Miz Sue.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 17:25

Keeneland: Last Full Measure goes from last to first in Madison

Coady Photography/Keeneland
Last Full Measure scored a 17-1 upset in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday for her first stakes victory.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Last Full Measure had none of her nine opponents beaten passing the quarter pole Saturday, but on the wire, the 5-year-old mare had her first stakes victory when she rolled to a 17-1 upset in the Grade 1, $300,000 Madison Stakes at Keeneland.

Making her first start in a one-turn race, Last Full Measure and jockey Corey Nakatani outran Byrama and Joel Rosario in the final 100 yards to win by a neck. Jamaican Smoke, who led most of the seven-furlong race, faded to third, another 1 1/4 lengths back, with Drama Drama along for fourth.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 17:25

Aqueduct: Cluster of Stars stays perfect in Grade 2 Distaff

Courtney Heeney
Cluster of Stars improved her career record to 5 for 5 and got her first graded stakes victory in the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct on Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Cluster of Stars kept her perfect record intact while capturing her first graded stakes Saturday, taking a scratched-reduced renewal of the Grade 2, $200,000 Distaff Handicap by 2 3/4 lengths at Aqueduct.

Under the hot-riding Junior Alvarado, Cluster of Stars broke on top and was passed along the inside by Los Ojitos at the three-furlong marker before regaining command of the race in midstretch and drawing clear as the 1-5 favorite.

Miss d’Oro rallied to get second by 1 1/4 lengths over Los Ojitos. Nakano finished last.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 17:02

Keeneland: Havelock noses out Something Extra in Shakertown

Coady Photography
Havelock, closest to the hedge with Garrett Gomez aboard, outfights favored Something Extra to win the Grade 3 Shakertown.

There may have been more talent-laden runnings of the Shakertown at Keeneland, but Saturday’s 17th renewal undoubtedly ranks among the most exciting.

In a blanket finish in which the top five finishers were separated by a half-length at the wire, Havelock prevailed by a nose over 2-1 favorite Something Extra in the Grade 3, $100,000 Shakertown on the Blue Grass Stakes undercard.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 16:29

Keeneland: Handsome Mike takes Grade 3 Commonwealth

Coady Photography/Keeneland
Handsome Mike ended a five-race losing streak by winning the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The team that made history last May in Kentucky returned nearly a year later to wow another big crowd, this time taking the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes on the Blue Grass Stakes undercard Saturday at Keeneland.

Owner Paul Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill, and jockey Mario Gutierrez – the same combination that won the 2012 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with I’ll Have Another – were the winning connections when Handsome Mike got a terrific outside trip to capture the 27th running of the $175,000 Commonwealth Stakes.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 16:08

Parx: Tujoes fires fresh to take Lyman Handicap

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Villette, ridden by Stewart Elliott, scores at 6-1 in the Foxy J.G. for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares.

A three-month layoff hardly mattered to Tujoes, who took command in  deep stretch and captured the $77,000 Lyman Handicap, the second of two stakes for Pennsylvania-breds on Saturday’s program at Parx Racing.

The 6-year-old Tujoes was making his first start since beating open company in a third-level optional $40,000 claimer on Jan. 7 and facing statebreds for the first time since winning the 1 1/16-mile Roanoke last September.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 15:28

Parx Racing: Ruler On Ice lands in tough allowance spot

Barbara D. Livingston
Ruler On Ice is just 1 for 11 since winning the Belmont Stakes in 2011 and will make his third start of the year Tuesday at Parx Racing.

Ruler On Ice, who has gone 1 for 11 since upsetting the 2011 Belmont Stakes at 24-1, and Alma d’Oro, a multiple stakes winner mired in a 12-racing losing streak, will look to rebuild their confidence when both New York-based horses ship to Parx Racing for Tuesday’s $55,000 feature.

The one-mile money allowance drew a stakes-caliber field of six that also includes Easter Gift, the winner of the Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx last September, and Ponzi Scheme, the winner of a sprint stakes at Monmouth Park last summer and a two-time stakes winner going two turns in 2011.

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 14:03

Santa Anita: Interaction may take to San Juan Capistrano distance

Shigeki Kikkawa
Interaction will look to end a seven-race losing streak when he runs in the $150,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita on April 21.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally is due for a win in a historic race such as the $150,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita on April 21.

McAnally won his first San Juan Capistrano in 1980 with the mighty John Henry. He won it again in 1998 with Amerique but has been shut out since.