Sunday, May 11, 2008
`BIG CASINO’ ROLLS IN PETER PAN ON WAY TO BELMONT STAKES
By Francis LaBelle Jr.
Japanese business executive Hidetoshi Yamamoto made his fortune in amusement games and slot machines. He is a pure sportsman, and proved it by sending two of his young Thoroughbreds to Belmont Park on Saturday afternoon for the 55th running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan at nine furlongs, a prep for the 140th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 7.
Both horses, trained by Kazuo Fujisawa, were purchased out of the Keeneland 2006 September Sale. Spark Candle, a son of 1992 Horse of the Year and Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy and Serena’s Song, who won 11 Grade 1 stakes in her career, was purchased for $1.5 million.
LUCKY ISLAND RULES BOLD RULER
By Francis LaBelle Jr.
Shadwell Stable’s Lucky Island, an Argentina-bred with a promising future, became a graded stakes winner Saturday afternoon, catching up to front-running Man of Danger in mid-stretch and then accelerating for a ??-length victory in the 33rd running of the Grade 2, $109,100 Bold Ruler Handicap for three-year-olds and up at six furlongs on Belmont Park’s fast main track.
In winning for the third straight time and fourth time in five lifetime starts, the 4-year-old Lucky Roberto colt turned in a professional performance that figures to be the building block on big career.
HARTIGAN TAKES HILLTOP STAKES
BALTIMORE, 05-10-08---After rain forced the race off the turf and four fillies defected from today’s $50,000 Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, the Richard Small trained entry of Hartigan and Inventive ran first and third.
No Use Denying finished a gutsy second between the entry and Ocala Gator faded to last after forcing the pace in the 1-1/16th mile test on the good main track. Hartigan completed the distance in 1:46.24 and the entry paid $2.80. Fitzhugh LLC (Robert Meyerhoff) owns and bred both of the Small-trained fillies.
“I think the turf is fine for either one of them but they both ran well and I was pleased with both of them,” Small said. “Haritgan is sort of an overachiever type and she’s pretty darn versatile. Pretty much any distance, any surface, it doesn’t really seem to matter.”
