ALBANY, Calif. - Here Comes Baby finished first in Thursday's first race at Golden Gate Fields, was disqualified to second, but still ended up a winner when the horse who had been put up to first place also was disqualified.
Here Comes Baby drifted in near the eighth pole, taking the path of Pronto One in a $12,500 claimer at six furlongs. Here Comes Baby won a three-way photo over Pronto One and Talara. The margin between each was a nose.
NEW ORLEANS - The filly still was by her mother's side when Mary Lou Heleringer purchased her, her dam Toyaholic, and the unborn foal Toyaholic was carrying for $5,000.
The filly also was a bargain: a $300,000 yearling by A.P. Indy, whose stud fee is listed as that same figure.
One came from down low, the other from on high. But this is not class warfare. The important question now is which horse will run faster Saturday in the $60,000 Pan Zareta Handicap, a six-furlong stakes race at Fair Grounds.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Surf N Sand, who won all five of her starts last year, will make her stakes debut Saturday in the $50,000 American Beauty at Oaklawn Park.
The six-furlong race drew seven fillies and mares, including defending champ Emily Ring.
Surf N Sand, a 5-year-old daughter of Boston Harbor who has made six career starts, went on a tear last year. She won a maiden race at Santa Anita in January, then picked up two more wins there before capturing optional claiming races at Churchill Downs in May and June.
Following the cancellation of racing at Turfway on Jan. 31 due to bitterly cold temperatures, the $50,000 WEBN Stakes was rescheduled and now shares top billing with the $50,000 Likely Exchange Stakes on Saturday.
The Likely Exchange is the deeper of the two races, featuring a field of 12 led by stakes winners Golden Sonata and Sweetwater Promise.
Golden Sonata, a 5-year-old daughter of Mr. Prospector, rallied to score her first stakes victory when she took the $60,000 Truly Bound Stakes at Fair Grounds on Jan. 4. Previously, she had won an allowance at Turfway on Dec. 6.
Lady Mallory, Texas's champion 3-year-old filly last year, will have her first meeting with one of the state's top older mares, Coastalota, in Saturday night's $40,000 Tomball Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park.
The 1 1/16-mile race for Texas-breds drew seven fillies and mares. The purse for the race has been increased from $30,000, with the supplement coming from the canceled $75,000 Martanza Handicap on Texas Champions Day last November.
The remaining canceled purse money has been put into other Texas-bred stakes at Sam Houston.
SUNLAND PARK, N. M. - The breakdown of This Cat's for You in the Jan. 10 Winsham Lad Handicap left a gaping hole in the older male division here, and that absence is reflected in the wide-open look of the field for Saturday's $50,000-added Curribot Handicap at 1 1/16 miles.
The ever-present stable of Steve Asmussen will be represented by Tempered Appeal, a 7-year-old who raced primarily at Woodbine in 2003.
Capac, a sharp winner of an entry-level allowance sprint Wednesday at Laurel Park, will make his next start in a two-turn race at a track yet to be determined, said trainer Mike Bell.
Bell, who accompanied Capac on a nine-hour van ride from Maryland on Thursday as they returned to their winter base in Camden, S.C., said he would "have to start looking at what we're going to do next," said Bell.
After consulting with jockeys and trainers, Turfway Park has cancelled live racing for Thursday night, Feb. 5 . The decision was made out of continuing concern for the condition of jockey Michael Rowland, who was injured in a three-horse spill at Turfway Park Wednesday night.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - One month into the 2002 Gulfstream Park meeting, Jose Santos's career reached rock bottom. Long regarded as one of the top jockeys on the East Coast, Santos's business had plummeted so badly he was struggling to pick up live mounts in claiming races and surviving only because of the loyalty of trainer Christophe Clement, for whom Santos still rode first call.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - As expected, a field of eight that includes Medaglia d'Oro and Eclipse Award winner Funny Cide was drawn Wednesday for Saturday's $500,000 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The Grade 1 Donn, the richest and most prestigious race of the meet for older horses, will be decided at 1 1/8 miles.
Medaglia d'Oro drew post 3 and was made the 8-5 favorite for the Grade 1 Donn by track linemaker Chuck Streva. Funny Cide drew post 5 and was made a 2-1 second choice.
