Sunday, August 10 2008

MAREN’S MEADOW, $24, NEVER HEADED IN MONMOUTH OAKS UPSET

OCEANPORT, N.J. * River Ridge Ranch’s Maren’s Meadow looked like a winner every stride as she led from gate to wire to upset the $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3) at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

In the day’s co-feature, M J’s Enchanteur used similar front-running tactics to win the $70,000 Select Stakes.

Maren’s Meadow, trained by J. Larry Jones and ridden by Terry Thompson, hit the wire four and a half lengths in front of Acoma, who had four lengths on Whirling Bertie, the 8-5 favorite in the field of five 3-year-old fillies.

Monmouth Park Barn Notes for Saturday, August 9, 2008

SUNDAY’S MY FRENCHMAN COMES UP COMPETITIVE TURF SPRINT

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Our Friend Harvey, winner of the Wolf Hill and second in the McSorley last out, tops a competitive field in Sunday’s $60,000 My Frenchman Stakes on turf * Owner-trainer Amy Tarrant will point Kiss the Kid for the Aug. 16 Iselin Stakes, holding out Indy Wind for stakes later in the meet.

The $60,000 My Frenchman, third and last in the series of turf sprint stakes at Monmouth, will be run Sunday, and promises to be a highly competitive event.

HARTIGAN TAKES TWIXT STAKES VIA DISQUALIFICATION

LAUREL, MD. 08-09-08---They were 4-5-6 as the field raced down the backstretch but the Dickie Small trained entry of Pissarro, Hartigan and Inventive crossed the finish line 1-2-3 in the $50,000 Twixt Stakes for Maryland-bred fillies at Laurel Park.

That would not become as the official order of finish, however.

A claim of foul by Jozbin Santana, who was aboard Hartigan, was lodged against Josue Arce, who rode Pissarro, for interference through the stretch. After a brief review by the stewards, Hartigan was named the winner, Pissarro was disqualified to second and Inventive remained third.

MIYADI, MARTINEZ TEAM UP TO WIN PAIR OF RACES AT FAIR

SAN MATEO -- Trainer Steve Miyadi and jockey Luis Martinez teamed up to win a pair of races Saturday at the San Mateo County Fair at Bay Meadows.

Miyadi and Martinez took the fourth race with Letsgobyebye ($6.40) and the seventh with Tuscan Fever ($10.40).

Miyadi tops the trainer standings with five victories through four days of racing at the fair. The wins were the first of the season for Martinez.

Del Mar Stable Notes 8/9/8

AWESOME GEM, MAST TRACK DRILL FOR PACIFIC CLASSIC

Awesome Gem, runner-up to Student Council in the 2007 edition of the Pacific Classic and a major candidate for this year's race, put in a crisp 5-furlong move this morning in 1:00.20 and earned good marks from trainer Craig Dollase and West Point Thoroughbreds' official Jeff Bloom.

Del Mar clockers caught the 5-year-old gelded son of Awesome Again, with exercise rider Mario Uribe up, going the first quarter mile in 24.60, three-eighths in 36.80 and coming home in 23.60 for the final quarter. The ever-conservative Dollase said, "He worked fine and he cooled out good."

SKY CAPE UPSETS IN LA JOLLA HANDICAP

Withdrawn from the opening-day Oceanside Stakes because of a minor illness, longshot Sky Cape made up for that lost opportunity with a decisive triumph Saturday in the featured $150,000 La Jolla Handicap.

Piloted by talented young rider Joel Rosario, Sky Cape rallied alongside Tangled Tango into the stretch, outduelled that one en route to a 1 1/2 length triumph in a fast 1:40.92 for the mile and one-sixteenth on the infield Jimmy Durante Turf Course, ensuring the win with a final sixteenth in blazing :5.3 seconds.

SPIRIT ONE FLIES HOME FIRST FOR FRANCE IN ARLINGTON MILLION XXVI

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (August 9, 2008) –Air France flew first, but European runners also finished second and third when Kamel Chehboub’s French-bred Spirit One stole Chicago’s biggest racing show with an unexpected wire-to-wire win in Arlington Million XXVI.

Taking command just after the break with a cleverly rated run under Basque-born jockey Ioritz Mendizabal, Spirit One, second in France’s Group III La Coupe Stakes June 14 in his last start, beat all the road rage traffic just behind and held on willingly to post a three quarter-length courageous score for his French connections, quarterbacked by trainer Philippe Demercastel.

MAURALAKANA POWERS HOME IN GRADE I BEVERLY D. STAKES

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (Aug. 9, 2008) – Robert Scarborough’s Mauralakana sat comfortably in fourth place throughout the early stages, then swung out with a powerful three-wide move turning for home to capture the Grade I, $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes by a decisive length and one quarter on Saturday at Arlington Park before an international racing crown of 31,463.

Mauralakana is trained by Christophe Clement, who today became the first to saddle three Beverly D. winners. He won the event last year with Royal Highness and in 2001 with England’s Legend. Patrick Biancone, Bobby Frankel, and Charlie Whittingham are the trainers with two Beverly D. winners to their credit.

Secretariat Stakes recap

WINCHESTER, PLAN 1-2 SECRETARIAT FINISH KICKS OFF BIG DAY FOR FOREIGN HORSES AT ARLINGTON’S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (Aug. 9, 2008) – A dominating 7¼-length victory by Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone’s Winchester – with a second-place run by IEAH Stables and Michael Tabor’s Plan – in the Grade I $400,000 Secretariat Stakes Saturday before 31,463 at Arlington Park set up a windfall for horses shipping from overseas for Arlington’s one-day International Festival of Racing.

Less than ninety minutes later, Spirit One, Archipenko and Mount Nelson became the first 1-2-3 finishers under the wire in the Grade I Arlington Million. Between those two races, the English-bred but French-raced filly Toque de Queda finished third in the Grade I $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes.

Barn Notes: Saturday, August 09, 2008

THREE RIDERS WITH CHANCE TO SWEEP ILLINOIS’ THREE GRADE I STAKES

Eight years ago, retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey put his personal stamp on the International Festival of Racing at Arlington Park when he became the first and only jockey in history to win the Grade I Arlington Million and the Grade I Beverly D. in the same year.

Since then, of course, the ultimate afternoon for a jockey during the one-day International Festival of Racing at Arlington Park would be to sweep the Million, the Beverly D. and the Grade I Secretariat Stakes on the second Saturday in August. Together, they are the only three Grade I events offered in Illinois on an annual basis and there are four jockeys with a chance to accomplish that sweep in 2008.

Saturday, August 09 2008

JOSEAN RAMIREZ WINS ABOARD FIRST MOUNT

LAUREL, MD. 08-08-08---Josean Ramirez, riding his first official race aboard Sir Classic Chris for legendary trainer King Leatherbury, won a close finish over What’s What and Jason Nguyen, who was also riding in his first official race, the second race on opening day of Laurel Park’s summer mini-meeting. Live racing returned to Maryland this afternoon after an eight-week hiatus in the form of a twilight racing.

“This was everything I could have hoped for,” Ramirez said. “I was a little nervous when we went to the gate but once we went in, I put the game face on and it was time to work.”

TURF COURSE SITE OF UPSETS AT FAIR

SAN MATEO -- There were two turf races contested at the San Mateo County Fair Friday and both were won by outsiders.

Eight horses competed in the fifth race, a 5 1/2-furlong dash on the Longden Turf Course. The winner was Advance Ticket, who paid $14.20 after going off as the fourth choice in the betting at odds of 6-to-1.