[caption id="attachment_68185" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Winning Mount Mount Benbulben ridden by Davey Condon comes home to win the Irish Form Book "Monksfield" Novice Hurdle at Sunday's Navan Races in County Meath. "]
James Graham is off to a fast start at the Fair Grounds meet, which kicked off on Thanksgiving Day. He won three races that day, including the first race and one of the two stakes races on the card. The jockey out of Dublin got 2-5 favorite Southern Rocket home first in the opener, and then proceeded to fill out the exacta in three of the next four races.
Graham came back in the eighth race to win the $60,000 Mr. Sulu aboard Populist Politics, which paid $4.80 to win. He then got nosed out of the win in the co-featured Thanksgiving Handicap on Cash Refund, the 8-1 fifth choice, but returned in the 10th race to score a front-running victory on Watch My Smoke, which returned a $5.00 win mutuel.
Graham got shut out in 10 races on Friday's card in New Orleans, but struck back with two wins on Saturday - Daisy Devine, the $5.40 victor of the Pago Hop Handicap, and Mr. Vegas, which paid $9.60 in taking the seventh race, a second-level allowance at a mile on the grass.
Daisy Devine is trained by Andrew McKeever, who sizzled at the Fair Grounds last season. The 3-year-old Kafwain filly, which is owned by James Miller, is now 5-for-10 under McKeever, including wins at 40-1 or better on two occasions.
RACING RARITY
Trainer Declan Jackson was involved in a racing rarity on Saturday, when Monomonac Playboy, which he owns in partnership with the Schow Family Trust, dead-heated for third in the seventh race, in which the first two finishers were also unable to be separated by the camera. The "Playboy," sent off at 23-1 off a 5-month layoff, trailed his seven rivals early and rallied under Francisco Duran to finish on even terms with Bertie Boy, a length behind the inseparable tandem of Best Verse and Flammable Boom. The race produced four trifecta payoffs and four superfecta payoffs.
Eddie Kenneally got the first of his two wins at Churchill Downs last week when Avalon Farms' Supsa broke her maiden against $15,000 claiming stock in Thursday's fifth race. The 2-year-old Smoke Glacken homebred was involved throughout and led down the stretch to get up by two lengths with Corey Lanerie astride. She paid $7.20 as the favorite in her second outing.
Kenneally closed out the week and the meet at Churchill with a victory as Hot Roots, owned by a large partnership, won at first asking in the 11th and final race on Sunday. Shaun Bridgmohan had the pleasure of crossing under the wire first on the 2-year-old daughter of Indian Charlie, which rallied from last in the slop to score by almost three lengths and return $28.80 to win.
Kenneally, with eight wins, tied for fifth place in the standings at Churchill Downs. Michael Maker's 15 led the pack, with Steve Asmussen one behind.
G. Watts Humphrey's Turfiste is something of a synthetic track specialist, so it comes as no surprise that he was shipped to Woodbine, where he could ply his trade on the artificial dirt. That's all to Mike Doyle's benefit, as he is now 2-for-2 with the 5-year-old horse, winner of Thursday's seventh race, a 7-furlong claiming sprint at the $8,000 level. Turfiste and jockey Slade Callaghan reached the wire in front by one-half length, and paid $5.60 to win.
C&A Stable's Universal Language won the way a 2-5 shot should, that is, by 10 lengths in the fourth race at Parx last Tuesday. The Cathal Lynch trainee was always involved in this 2-turner at the $7,500 claiming tier with Angel Arroyo in the irons, and drew away upon entering the stretch. The winner paid $2.80.
John Haran came up a winner in Mountaineer's second race on Tuesday when his Eagle Valley Farm's Swedish Beauty led the field from flagfall to finish. The 4-year-old homebred filly, ridden by Jorge Guerra, was a length clear at the wire in this 2-turn mile for nickel claimers that had not won three races. She was actually racing above her conditions, having only broken her maiden, which may explain the $27.20 win mutuel. Swedish Beauty is now under the care of Jeff Jones.
Haran also pulled out a victory at his Illinois base of Hawthorne on Saturday when Coyote Breeze, owned by his son, John, Jr., took the opener, a maiden special weight sprint, by two lengths in his seventh try under silks. Coyote Breeze paid $18.80 to win.
David Duggan closed the week out with a victory in Aqueduct's seventh race on Sunday courtesy of Silverton Hill Farm's Litigate. The 3-year-old gelding was winless in four attempts since breaking his maiden at first asking last November over the Big A's main track. He rallied from dead last under Junior Alvarado in this first-level allowance sprint to win by one length. The win price was $13.80.
