by Frank Angst @BH_FAngst

After finishing fourth in her grade I debut in the Del Mar Debutante, Noted and Quoted found success in her second try at the top level with a half-length victory in the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

After tracking early leader With Honors through most of the 1 1/16-mile race, jockey Rafael Bejarano asked Noted and Quoted for more in early stretch and the daughter of The Factor   surged to the lead as With Honors held second. Zapperkat finished third. The victory gives trainer Bob Baffert 10 wins in the Chandelier.

"I have to give Bob a lot of credit for this," said Bejarano who secured his fourth Chandelier win since 2011. "Baffert told me that he thought I might want to stay on Noted and Quoted because she was going to be prepared to run the mile and a sixteenth. And, he was right. American Cleopatra (who finished eighth) was right next to me but Stewart (Elliott, on American Cleopatra) didn't have enough horse and mine was the better horse today." The Chandelier marked her first try at two turns.

Speedway Stable's Noted and Quoted completed the distance in 1:44.88 on a fast track.

The Chandelier is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Juvenile Fillies (gr. I). Peter Fluor of Houston races as Speedway Stable.

LNJ Foxwoods' With Honors, who was trying dirt for the first time after winning her first two starts on turf, including a stakes race at Del Mar, raced well from the inside post under Flavien Prat. The daughter ofWar Front   skipped through a quarter-mile in :23.29 and a half-mile in :47.10, while Bejarano kept Noted and Quoted close.

Noted and Quoted challenged after six furlongs in 1:11.81 then powered to the lead in early stretch.

"When they turned for home, I thought, 'That's a good filly (With Honors) that ran second.' I have a lot of respect for her," Baffert said. "(Noted and Quoted) is a very slight filly. I don't have to do a lot with her, but the fact that she's already proved she can go two turns—that's what we were trying to find out with her. I'm pretty proud of her effort, because she ran against a really great filly."

Noted and Quoted paid $16.80 to win, $8.40 to place, and $5.80 to show, while With Honors paid $10.60 and $7.60 to place and show. Zapperkat, the 5-2 favorite in her stakes debut, paid $3.80 to show.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux believes With Honors will move forward in the Breeders' Cup.

by Frank Angst @BH_FAngst

Gormley made his stakes debut a winning effort, scoring a three-length, front-running win in the $300,000 FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) Oct. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by John Shirreffs for owners Jerry and Ann Moss, Gormley broke well from the rail under Victor Espinoza and cruised through a quarter-mile in :23.72 and a half-mile in :47.18. The son of Malibu Moon  opened a big advantage in the far turn, extending that advantage to 3 1/2 lengths in the stretch, and was not seriously threatened by 1-5 favorite and last-out Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) winner Klimt, who rallied for second. Straight Fire came in another 4 1/2 lengths back in third.

Gormley improved to two-for-two, completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.57. He returned $23.60 to win, $5 to place, and $3 to show while Klimt paid $2.20 and $2.10. Straight Fire paid $2.20 to show.

Gormley won his maiden special weight debut going 6 1/2 furlongs Sept. 4 at Del Mar and easily made the jump to grade I winner.

"You know, it's always a surprise as you train in the morning and you hope they can improve in the afternoon. You don't ever know until the afternoon," Shirreffs said. "After you've won your first race you settle in and you just move on. He's a young horse, he's learning. He needs to focus a little bit and once he gets focused he's got it handled."

Espinoza, who secured his fourth FrontRunner victory, said he didn't necessarily plan to go to the lead with Gormley.

"I originally wanted to take back a little bit and let him run in the end ... I was on the rail and didn't want to take him back then, so I let him run," Espinoza said. "This horse can run well wherever he runs. He's a very talented young horse and he's going to improve for the future." 

Gormley punches his ticket to the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) as the FrontRunner is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race. The winners of the 2014 and 2015 FrontRunner, American Pharoah   (under Espinoza) and Nyquist, went on to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, Gormley is the first starter out of the stakes-winning Bernstein mare Race to Urga.

Bob Baffert, trainer of Klimt, said the son of Quality Road   made a nice rally but was probably too far back early.

"That gave him a lot to do. He just didn't fire away from the gate, didn't break like we were hoping he would. But he ran a good race; he closed," Baffert said. "We know he can handle the distance. The quality is there; it just needs to come out of him."

by Evan Hammonds @BH_EHammonds

Charles Fipke’s Forever Unbridled, the 3-5 favorite, swept to the lead turning for home and won Belmont Park’s Beldame Stakes (gr. I) by 2 1/4 lengths. Tiger Ride finished second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Penwith in third. Off the Tracks, the 7-2 second choice, finished another three-quarters of a length back in fourth. 

The time for the nine furlongs was 1:50.24 over a track listed as muddy (sealed). Joel Rosario was up for trainer Dallas Stewart. Stewart had a big day, as his Tom's Ready upended Runhappy in the Ack Ack Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs.

Forever Unbridled paid $3.80 to win, $2.60, and $2.40. Tiger Ride returned $8.40 and $5.30 and Penwith paid $4.50 to show.

Forever Unbridled was unhurried early as Paola Queen set the early pace over the wet going. She had a clear lead through an opening quarter of :24.34 and a half-mile in :49.03 as Off the Tracks gave chase in second with Tiger Ride (on the rail) and Penwith not far behind. The field bunched as they rounded the bend, as Penwith made great headway on Paola Queen, but Forever Unbridled was inhaling them all. After six furlongs in 1:14.06, Forever Unbridled was well clear after a mile in 1:38.07. Her final eighth came in a quick :12.17.

"She's not quick (out of the gate) but she broke OK," Rosario said. "I ended up being very close to the lead because they were going slow. I was just trying to take my time with her, not turn her loose and stay on the outside. I could feel she was getting over the track very good. She was taking me there nicely and I was pretty much just a passenger."

With a $400,000 purse, Forever Unbridled took home $240,000, increasing her bankroll to $1,411,600 off a record of 5-3-3 in 13 starts. 

“I thought it was great,” Stewart said. “The rain just drove me nuts. If you looked at the weather the last three days, I almost had her on a van and got her out of here. They said like three inches of rain and you don't want to get into a bad racetrack going into the Breeders' Cup but they kept changing the forecast, things got better. So, thank God, we left her here. The track superintendent did a great job with how good the track looks.

“This filly…I think there’s more to come. She's tough, she really is. So long as she comes back good and everything's good (she'll run in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, gr. I)."