[boxify cols_use =”3″ cols =”6″ position =”right” box_spacing =”5″ padding =”3″ background_color =”gray” background_opacity =”10″ border_width =”1″ border_color =”blue” border_style =”solid” height =”595″ ]LATEST STAKES RESULTS

  •  Slim Shadey — Elkwood S. (MTH)
    • Trained and owned by David Jacobson
  • Irish You Well — Long Branch S. (MTH)
    • Trained by Wayne Catalano for Donegal Racing
  • Itsmyluckyday — G3 Salvator Mile S. (MTH)
    • Trained Edward Plesa Jr. for Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa
  • Main Sequence — G1 United Nations S. (MTH)
    • Trained by H. Graham Motion for Flaxman Holdings Ltd. 
  • Aigue Marine — G3 Robert G. Dick Memorial S. (DEL)
    • Trained by Christophe Clement for Haras du Mezeray and Skymarc Farm Inc.
  • I’m Steppin’ It Up — Carl Hanford Memorial S. (DEL)
    • Trained by Anthony Pecoraro for Roman Hill Farm
  • Coup de Grace — Oh Say S. (DEL)
    • Trained by J. Larry Jones for Fox Hill Farms Inc.
  • Fortune Pearl — G2 Delaware Oaks (DEL)
    • Trained by H. Graham Motion for Zanim R. Meahjohn[/boxify]

We raised several questions entering the weekend’s racing, and with eight stakes on the docket, there were plenty of answers:

  1. How would Pixie Dust fare in her first foray into open company and around two turns?  She finished sixth, beaten 8 1/2 lengths. After running up close in the G2 Delaware Oaks, she had no response in the drive.
  2. Could trainer Mike Geralis get his first stakes victory in the Carl Hanford Memorial?  No.  Service for Ten finished sixth, and last, after being sent off at 9-5, the second favorite.
  3. Could 2013 Maryland Million Nursery winner It’s a Bang make a triumphant return to the races in the Oh Say Stakes?  No.  He was pulled up in distress and walked off.
  4. Could Italian-bred Angegreen rediscover her best form in the G3 Robert Dick Memorial?  No.  She finished seventh for trainer Rick Mettee.  Meanwhile, Aigue Marine set a track record in winning.
  5. Could Virginia-bred Just Call Kenny make a successful return to the races?  Yes.  The surprise winner of January’s Spectacular Bid at Gulfstream ran a game second in the Long Branch, setting him up for bigger things down the road.  “He ran great,” said trainer Pat McBurney.  “For his first time around two turns, I was real impressed and pleased with how he did.  If he comes out of the race good, and provided we’re invited, we’ll be back for the Haskell.”
  6. Would Valid find his way to the winner’s circle?  Or would it be Itsmyluckyday’s lucky day?  The day belonged to Itsmyluckyday, the Eddie Plesa trainee who coasted to a 1 1/2 length victory in Sunday’s G3 Salvator Mile.  Valid, trained by Marcus Vitali, was nosed out for second and wound up third.  “This was another test he passed with an A+,” ‘Lucky’s trainer Eddie Plesa said.  He’s pointing the horse to the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup later in the month.
  7. Who would emerge from a crowded G1 United Nations field?  Main Sequence rallied late to post an 8-1 upset, edging Twilight Eclipse for all the money.  Trained by Graham Motion, Main Sequence made his North American debut a winning one.  “I think the Breeders’ Cup is now something we can consider,” Motion commented.
Itsmyluckyday takes the G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Itsmyluckyday takes the G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Weekend Notes…

  • The Racing Biz local correspondent Doug McCoy gave out the exactas in both of Delaware’s graded races this weekend.  In the G3 Robert Dick Memorial, he correctly sniffed out Aigue Marine and Concise running one-two (the latter elevated by disqualification); they comprised a $22.80 $1 exacta.  And in the G2 Oaks, he preferred Fortune Pearl in a mild upset over favored Joint Return; that duo returned $11.40 for each dollar bet.
  • Two runners from the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred/The Racing Biz Top Midlantic-bred Poll were in action this weekend:
    • Waterway Run, fifth among older horses, ran third as the favorite in the Perfect Sting Stakes at Belmont Park.  She was 3 3/4 lengths behind another Midlantic-bred, Maryland-bred Joy, bred and owned by Dark Hollow Farm and trained by and trained by Graham Motion.
    • Favorite Tale (PA), tied for fourth among three year-olds, finished second in a rugged running of the Oh Say Stakes at Delaware Park.  He finished just a neck behind the winner, favored Coup de Grace.
  • Delaware’s Oaks day card — beefed up this year with the addition of two stakes not on last year’s card and shifted a week earlier on the calendar — handled more than $2.4 million — nearly double the $1.27 million the track handled last Oaks day.
  • Last year, Monmouth carded the United Nations and Salvator Mile on a Saturday and handled more than $6.6 million, according to Equibase charts.  This year, on a Sunday, handle dropped about 10 percent, to $5,994,088.