GIII Bayakoa Stakes

Sunday's closing day card at Del Mar was punctuated by a trio of impressive graded stakes performances, however, none more so than the final graded race of the seaside oval's season, the GIII Bayakoa Stakes. Attempting to defend her title in the one-mile race after a narrow score in 2024, Hope Road (Quality Road) rebounded off a modest third-place effort as the even-money choice in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint to take Sunday's Bayakoa, winning by an emphatic 6 1/2-length margin. Hustled out of the gate by...

Edited Press Release Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse returned to Oaklawn Park last season, winning nine races--a single-season personal best in Hot Springs--led by GI Arkansas Derby hero Sandman (Tapit). Casse could make an even bigger impact during the coming split meets because several of his most prominent horses will ship for Oaklawn's 64-day season that begins Dec. 12. The trainer, who received 25 stalls, already has horses on the grounds. "They'll come in stages," Casse said from his Florida base on Thursday. "But we're going to bring our...

Breaking on top despite a slight bobble after the jump, Comparative (Street Sense) was headed only once in the GIII Bayakoa S., but put that rival away in the lane to hold off all comers in a gutsy performance to pick up her first graded win. On a two-race win-streak coming into this contest after another dueled performance in the Ladies S. Jan. 6, and a winner to cap her 2023 season against New York optional claiming company Nov. 25 at Aqueduct, she was given a 6-1 chance by the...