Staying clear of congestion as the field turned for home, 7-5 favorite Fortified Effort ($4.80) posted a 1 ¼ length victory over Zippy Groom (who got blocked when making his move in deep stretch) with Oldtoytrain third in the field of six 3-year-old colts and geldings.
Owned by the quartet of Lloyd Yother, Bill Mathews, Marvin Fleming and trainer Kevin Eikleberry and ridden by Kevin’s son Ry, Fortified Effort covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.83. A son of Ez Effort, Fortified Effort was winning for the fifth time in 11 starts, including three stakes wins, and now has $174,173 in earnings
$29,625 Lyman & Bradley Rollins Handicap
Triple AAA Ranch’s Bar Scene ($13.60), a 5-year-old mare and lone female against four colts and geldings, proved best with a front-running performance for trainer Lymon Perren. The daughter of Rocky Bar, with Scott Stevens up, raced the 6 furlongs in a sprightly 1:09.64 for her fourth victory in eight outings. Jilas Miracle finished second, a length behind the winner with Royal Privacy third.
The win raised Bar Scene’s purse earnings to $115,586.
$44,852 Joanne Dye Breeders’ Oaks
Leaving no doubt as to her bona fides, prohibitive 1-5 favorite Foggia ($2.40) led from start to finish with extremely confident Francisco Arrieta aboard for Sawyer Cattle Company and trainer Dan McFarlane. Foggia had 4 ¼ lengths on runnerup Myrcella with Shesaheatwave third in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies.
Another progeny of prolific sire Rocky Bar, Foggia covered the 7 ½ furlongs over firm turf in 1:30:27. It was the third win in eight starts for Foggia who now has earnings of $104,856.
$30,250 Dwight Patterson Handicap
Scott Stevens, who went a perfect four-for-four, got his fourth tally of the day with a well-timed ride aboard Sierrita ($8.80) to win a four-horse photo finish. Silvanus ralled alongside the winner to finish second, a half-length back, with Ida Goodest third in the field of seven older horses. Scrap Iron finished fourth.
Owned by Seven Arms Stable and trained by David Van Winkle, Sierrita covered the 1 1/6 over the turf in 1:42.66. It was the eighth victory in 23 efforts for Sierrita, a mare taking on the boys, and the win boosted her earnings to $108,187. The daughter of Top Hit was scoring her first win in two tries over the grass.
Note: Fleming Thoroughbred led all Breeders with three wins on the day. Triple AAA had two winners.