Horse Racing Roundup : Slew City Slew Is First in Oaklawn Handicap

Slew City Slew survived late runs by Stalwars and Homebuilder and a foul claim to win the $400,000 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., Saturday.

Trained by Wayne Lukas and ridden by Angel Cordero, Slew City Slew took the lead early and covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.

Sent off as the 7-5 favorite, the son of Seattle Slew finished a half-length ahead of Stalwars, with Antonio Castanon aboard, while Homebuilder, with Larry Snyder up, finished a nose back in third.

Jerry Bailey, who rode Proper Reality, filed a foul claim against Homebuilder for a bump into the first turn, and Snyder, on Homebuilder, claimed foul against Slew City Slew for a bump heading into the backstretch.

The stewards determined that the second bump was actually caused by Santa Anita Handicap winner Martial Law and let the results stand.

Martial Law finished sixth in the field of eight.

Faultless Ensign rebounded from a 20-length loss in his last race and held off four other horses in the stretch to win the $150,000 Garden State Stakes in the mud at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Trained by Ben Perkins Jr., Faultless Ensign, with Chris DeCarlo in the saddle, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51 1/5 and earned $90,000 for his owners, the Anthony Tornetta Racing Partnership.

Forlitano, who was shipped in from California for the race, outfinished favored El Senor to win the $100,000 Bougainville Handicap on the grass at Hialeah, Fla.

Ridden by Corey Black, the Argentine-bred 8-year-old won by 1 3/4 lengths, with El Senor finishing second, a neck in front of Arlene’s Valentine.

The victory in 1:53 4/5 was Forlitano’s eighth in 30 grass races. The $60,000 winner’s share of the purse increased his earnings to $769,570 for Evergreen Farm.

In New York, Pok Ta Pok, with Richard Migliore aboard, scored a nose victory over Teddy Drone in the $112,600 Bold Ruler Stakes at Aqueduct.

Claim, the favorite, finished third in the six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up.

Pok Ta Pok was clocked on a muddy track in 1:09 4/5 and earned $67,560 for owner Barbara W. Turner.

Little Bold John led all the way and held off a late rally by Templar Hill to win the 35th running of the $150,000 John B. Campbell Handicap at Pimlico Race Track in Pimlico, Md.

The 126-pound topweight in the field of seven covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49 2/5 over a sloppy track to earn a berth in the $700,000 Pimlico Special on May 13.

Little Bold John earned $90,000 for owner John E. Owens of Harwood, Md.