Preakness-bound Blazing Sevens breezed five furlongs in 1:00 Saturday, and trainer Chad Brown pronounced it a “super” final move before the race.
Facing adversity and an inspired foe in Mage, Forte nevertheless found what he needed to win the Florida Derby and cement his divisional lead.
Two-year-old champion Forte made his return to action an impressive one as he cruised in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. won five races and swept the Virginia Derby and Virginia Oaks – the former aboard $2 million yearling Capensis – Tuesday at Colonial Downs.
Never far back, Mo Donegal surged to the lead with a furlong to go and went on to win the Belmont Stakes, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his third Belmont.
Classic Causeway won the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs to take over the top spot in the Derby points standings in one of two Saturday preps.
Maryland-bred star Knicks Go concluded his career Saturday with a second-place finish in the G1 Pegasus World Cup.
In a three-way thriller, Red Ghost managed to get her nose down on the wire to win the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
Maryland’s top performers honored, Derby day attendance, and jockeys behaving badly, in the week in social media.
Sharing – who won Laurel’s Selima Stakes – and Four Wheel Drive, winner of the Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial Downs, turned in banner Breeders’ Cup Friday wins.