Fanshell Beach Wins Riverside Rush; Cloe Takes Hummingbird

Fanshell Beach won the Riverside Rush on the front end, and Cloe triumphed in the Hummingbird from well off the pace, as turf-stakes action unfolded Saturday at Ellis Park

Fanshell Beach absorbed heavy, sustained pace pressure from 100-1 shot Super Saiyajin, running that rival into a last-place finish, then turned back mild upper-stretch bids from second and third choices Hey Tuff Guy and Tolstoy before hanging on by a half-length over deep-closing Crack On to win the $200,000 Riverside Rush.

The top two finishers in the Riverside Rush, a race restricted to 2-year-olds, were fillies facing male competition. Good to Be King finished third, a half-length behind Crack On.

Fanshell Beach ran 5 1/2 furlongs over a yielding course in 1:03.79 and paid $5.72 as the favorite. By Corniche out of Pacific Heat, by Unusual Heat, Fanshell Beach races for Hat Creek Racing and is trained by Wesley Ward. She won her career debut on dirt at Keeneland in April and finished a solid fourth of 21 in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Cloe ($9.32) stormed home from fifth to capture the $225,000 Hummingbird by 2 3/4 lengths over pacesetting Itzel, who held second by a head over Lovely Emma. Big Trouble, the 9-5 favorite, finished fourth, just ahead of 5-2 second choice Buttercream Babe.

Cloe traveled nicely through the turn under jockey Ben Curtis and really found her stride at the three-sixteenths marker, closing hard on the outside to pass the four rivals in front of her and win easily, covering the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.43.

Mike Maker trains Cloe for Lugamo Racing Stable. She is a 4-year-old daughter of Tiz the Law and Nuhood, by Smart Strike.