http://www.ntra.com/ Headline News from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association 2006 NTRA en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:12:54 GMT support@ntra.com support@ntra.com http://www.ntra.com/images/header_logo_NTRA.gif http://www.ntra.com/ 90 63 30 Last year, California Flag went too fast early in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and faded to finish 10th. This year, California Flag and jockey Joe Talamo timed it perfectly. Leading throughout, California Flag ($8.80) gave Talamo, trainer Brian Koriner and owner Keith Card their first victory in the Breeders' Cup with a 1 3/4-length win over the mare Gotta Have Her. Cannonball finished third in the field of 14. California Flag, a California-bred by Avenue of Flags, set an early pace of 21.50 and 43.09 seconds, leading by as many as 3 1/2 lengths in early stretch. He finished about 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:11.28, just missing the track record of 1:11.10 that he set in 2008. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43300 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:12:54 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43300 European invader Pounced ($6.80) gave trainer John Gosden his second consecutive win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the first Breeders' Cup race on Saturday. Pounced split horses in midstretch and won going away over Bridgetown and Interactif. Gosden won the 2008 Juvenile Turf with Donativum, and repeated with a better horse this year. Pounced, who finished second in a Group 1 in France last time out, is a son of Rahy who was making his fourth career start and first in the U.S. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43295 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:19:45 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43295 Seven months after he was sidelined by a bone chip in an ankle, Smart Bid won his first stakes in Saturday's $100,000 Damascus Stakes at Santa Anita, the first race on the Breeders' Cup program. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43294 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:14:36 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43294 http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43290 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:12:50 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43290 Grade 2 winner Tuscan Evening (Ire) benefited from a well-timed ride by jockey Rafael Bejarano to score a comfortable win in the $200,000 Las Palmas Handicap (G2) on Friday at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park. The 4-year-old Oasis Dream (GB) filly took command in early stretch and held off Grade 3 winner Closeout by 1¼ lengths in the final race on Oak Tree’s Friday card, which featured the first six races of the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43263 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:20:13 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43263 Zenyatta was the favorite in the two-day daily double wager combining the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic on Friday and the BC Classic on Saturday. Ladies' Classic winner Life Is Sweet was fifth choice in the eight-horse field and paid $18.20. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43261 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:50:12 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43261 In winning Friday's Grade 3, $111,000 Ack Ack Handicap at Churchill Downs, Demarcation proved his class, as well as his versatility. A dead-heat winner of last year's Grade 3 River City Handicap on turf at Churchill Downs, he moved to the dirt in the Ack Ack for the first time since February 2008, and the change in surface rejuvenated the 5-year-old Demarcation, who rallied from the back the pack at 10-1 to score a 1 1/2-length victory over 21-1 long shot Glamour Guy. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43257 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:53:30 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43257 Life Is Sweet had raced in the long shadow cast by her stablemate Zenyatta, for much of 2009. Zenyatta had won the $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic last year, but the decision to run Zenyatta on Saturday against males in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic allowed Life Is Sweet to emerge from that shadow. She rallied from last in the field of eight to win the Ladies' Classic, which capped the first of two days of racing for the 26th Breeders' Cup before a crowd of 37,651 on Friday at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting. Life Is Sweet ($18.20) was given a patient ride by Garrett Gomez, who paid no attention to the wicked fractions set by front-runner Careless Jewel, the 9-5 favorite. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43247 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:10:37 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43247 Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard hit for the cycle Friday at Santa Anita, where the 68-year-old started three runners in the Breeders' Cup, and saved the best for last. Informed Decision took advantage of a perfect trip to win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Sheppard's first victory Friday after Forever Together finished third in the Filly and Mare Turf, and Cloudy's Knight finished second in the Marathon. Julien Leparoux, who earlier won the Juvenile Fillies with She Be Wild, gave Informed Decision ($8.80) a perfect ride and the result was 1 1/4-length win over 2008 Filly and Mare Sprint winner Ventura. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43243 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:30:41 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43243 A few weeks ago, trainer Henry Cecil scolded himself for the way he prepared Midday for the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp in early October. She finished third, and at the time, Cecil said the filly had been slightly unprepared following a layoff and would be better in her next start. Boy, was he right. Making her first start outside of Europe, Midday ($6.60) rallied along the inside in the stretch to win Friday's $1,818,000 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43240 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:01:04 GMT http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=43240