Horse Racing Roundup : Western Playboy Keeps Pat Day Perfect in This Race

Western Playboy charged through the middle of the pack at the top of the stretch and pulled away for a convincing victory in the $500,000 Jim Beam Stakes Saturday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Jockey Pat Day won his third Beam Stakes in three attempts in the eighth running of this major prep for the Kentucky Derby. Day also won with At The Threshold in 1984 and J.T.’s Pet in 1987.

Western Playboy beat Feather Ridge by 1 1/2 lengths, with Mercedes Won getting by Clever Trevor by a neck for third in the 1 1/8 mile race.

Western Playboy paid $6.40, $4 and $2.80. Feather Ridge returned $6.60 and $4.20, and Mercedes Won paid $3.

Mercedes Won, ridden by James Bruin, briefly went to the front before Day, using the left-hand whip, maneuvered Western Playboy to the lead in the final sixteenth.

Randy Romero rallied Feather Ridge to second, but the son of Cox’s Ridge couldn’t match Western Playboy in the final strides.

Western Playboy, owned by Nancy A. Vanier of Waterloo, Ill., covered the distance in 1 minute 49 seconds.

The Illinois-bred Western Playboy has never finished worse than second in five previous races with Day aboard.

Eugene Sipus Jr. took Halrose to the front at the start of the race, with Mercedes Won trailing by a half-length at three-quarter pole.

Western Playboy earned $300,000 for the victory, his first in four starts this year. His career winnings are $483.641.

Cryptoclearance moved from the back of the pack with a strong second-half run to score a 3 1/2-length victory in the $200,000 Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park in Miami.

The 5-year-old Cryptoclearance, 16 lengths off the pace on the backstretch, ran the 1 1/4-mile in 1:59 2/5 and passed a four-horse pack for the win.

Cryptoclearance, ridden by Jose Santos, paid $3.80, $2.60 and $2.20. Slew City Slew nipped Mi Selecto by a neck for second and paid $3 and $2.60. Mi Selecto paid $3.

Slew City Slew led by two lengths at the three-sixteenths pole, but Cryptoclearance took the lead on the final turn.

Open Mind, a 2-5 favorite trained by Wayne Lukas, beat Dreamy Mimi by two lengths to win the first running of the $200,000 Pimlico Oaks in 38 years at Laurel Race Course in Laurel, Md.

The filly, ridden by Angel Cordero, came from last in the seven-horse field to win the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:43

“She’s capable of winning the Kentucky Oaks and the New York Triple Crown for fillies,” Cordero said.

But Open Mind is owned by Gene Klein, whose filly Winning Colors won the Kentucky Derby last year.

“The owner and the trainer will decide,” said Mark Hennig, assistant trainer for Lukas. “Whether it’s the Derby, or the Oaks (the day before the Derby), we wouldn’t train her any different.”

Manastash Ridge, part of Wayne Lukas’ second team, led from the start easily outrunning 13 other 3-year-olds in the $100,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Despite breaking from the No. 14 post, Antonio Castanon took the son of Seattle Slew to the lead and he never looked back. He ran the first six furlongs in a very fast 1:09 2/5 and the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.

Manastash Ridge, who raced in California until he was shipped to Oklahoma on March 18, finished fourth behind Clever Trevor.

Manastash Ridge paid $24.20, $8.40, $5.20. Big Stanley, the 3-2 favorite, returned $3.60 $2.80 and Double Quick paid $5.60.

Militron, a New England-based horse ridden by Rick Wilson, raced to a one-length victory in the $100,000 Cherry Hill Mile for 3-year-olds at Garden State Park in Cherry Hills, N.J.

Militron moved from fourth to third on the backstretch, trailing Northern Wolf and Gold Oak. Militron passed Gold Oak on the first turn and passed Northern Wolf on the final turn, entering the stretch.

Militron paid $13.20, $8.60, and $4.20. Wind Splitter returned $5.20 and $4.20.