Saturday, January 30, 2010

Saturday stakes roundup

In the headline event of the annual Sunshine Millions program, the popular California-bred Bold Chieftain prevailed in a thrilling stretch drive to take the $500,000 Classic.


The 7-year-old campaigner wove through traffic under Russell Baze and found a narrow gap in the stretch, splitting horses late to prevail by a neck over Palladio.


"This ranks right up there with any race I've ever won, anywhere," Baze said. "We were in some pretty tight straights there turning for home. I didn't know if I was going to get through or not, but a hole presented itself coming to the three-sixteenths and we got through but then I had to check up and we clipped heels. Even though we got through, I had [Unusual Smoke] laying on me and it's hard for a horse to move when he's got horses laying on him like that, but he did it."


Palladio, a Florida-bred 8-year-old, held off 50-1 shot Unusual Smoke for the place. Favored The Usual QT had a six-race win streak, all on the turf, snapped as he switched to Pro-Ride. The colt appeared to handle the surface well early, tugging his way into a stalking second behind early leader Enriched, but he faded badly down the stretch to be last.


Also at Santa Anita, Quisisana rallied four wide for the lead and held on by a nose over a hard-charging Dubai Majesty to score her first stakes win in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Dubai Majesty was second in this event for the second year in a row. In the Filly and Mare Turf, favored Tight Precision won under a patient ride from Joel Rosario.

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The highlight of the Gulfstream Park portion of the card was the Sprint, which featured a blazingly fast and exciting duel between This Ones for Phil and Pashito the Che. The two hooked up out of the gate and blitzed through early fractions of 21.46 and 43.23. They were open lengths ahead of the field through five furlongs in 55.31 and came down to the wire nose to nose, with This Ones for Phil prevailing by the slimmest of margins in 1:08.81.


"When I saw [Pashito the Che] on the lead, I knew he was the horse to beat so I got right after him," jockey Johnny Velazquez said. "At the three-sixteenth’s pole I got head-to-head with him, and from then on it was both of those horses. They fought every step of the way, all the way home, and it was just the luck of bob to me, I guess. When you get to ride horses like this, and they run the way those two did, it’s very exciting."


In his first start off the claim for trainer Marty Wolfson, Jet Propulsion dictated the pace and earned a frontrunning win in the Turf under newly-minted Eclipse winner Julien Leparoux. Jet Propulsion's uncoupled stablemate Pickapocket made up some ground late for the place. Earlier, Sweet Repent made it two straight stakes wins by cruising to a daylight win in the Distaff.

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Aqueduct cancelled due to extreme cold after just three races - but one of the ones they did get in was the 70th running of the Correction Handicap. Hold That Prospect led from start to finish to earn her first stakes win in a 7 1/2 length romp under Jorge Chavez.


Heaven's Voice stumbled at the start but closed from far back to nose out Fascinatin' Rhythm for second.

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