Nahrain wins photo finish in Flower Bowl

European shipper Nahrain out-finished a trio of fillies in the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (gr. I) this afternoon at Belmont Park, kicking clear late under John Velazquez to win by a half-length.

Sent off at odds of 5-1, the daughter of Selkirk was content to race toward the rear of the field as Hit It Rich rattled off slow fractions of :25.33 and :51.73 while being tracked by Halo Dolly. Bizzy Caroline, Hessonite, and Zagora were also racing fairly close to the lead, while Nahrain, Dream Peace, and I'm A Dreamer comprised the trailing group.

Hit It Rich and Halo Dolly continued to show the way until they quarter pole, where they were quickly surrounded and surpassed by numerous rallying rivals. Zagora was the first to take command, drawing clear to lead by 1 1/2 lengths passing the eighth pole, but Nahrain was charging hard on the outside and got up in the final fifty yards or so to win the race in 2:05.56 seconds.

Zagora held off Dream Peace by a nose to finish second, while I'm A Dreamer rallied up the fence to secure the final spot in the superfecta. Hessonite, Bizzy Caroline, Hit It Rich, and Halo Dolly completed the order of finish.

The winner is owned by Darley Stable and trained by Roger Varian.

-Keelerman

Flower Bowl Stakes Entries: Nahrain and Zagora headline international field

Nahrain, runner-up in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (gr. I), and Zagora, a seven-time graded stakes winner, are the stars of an exceptional field of fillies and mares entered in the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational (gr. I).

The ten-furlong turf race, which will be run at Belmont Park on Saturday, has drawn a field of ten. Other prominent entrants in this deep field include Beverly D. Stakes (gr. I) winner I'm a Dreamer, Glens Falls Stakes (gr. III) winner Hit it Rich, Diana Stakes (gr. I) runner-up Dream Peace, and Yellow Ribbon Handicap (gr. II) winner Halo Dolly.

Post Positions

PP	Horse	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Dream Peace	119	Julien Leparoux	Chad Brown
2	Hessonite	119	Jose Lezcano	David G. Donk
3	Hit It Rich	119	Javier Castellano	Claude McGaughey III
4	I'm A Dreamer	123	Hayley Turner	David Simcock
5	Starformer	119	Mike Smith	Bill Mott
6	Bizzy Caroline	119	David Cohen	Kenneth McPeek
7	Zagora	121	Ramon Dominguez	Chad Brown
8	Nahrain	121	John Velazquez	Roger Varian
9	Halo Dolly	121	Joel Rosario	Jerry Hollendorfer

-Keelerman

HALO DOLLY WINS THE YELLOW RIBBON HANDICAP!

Halo Dolly stamped herself as a filly to watch last Monday when she rallied to victory over a strong field in the $250,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (gr. II) at Del Mar.

Ridden to victory by Joseph Talamo, Halo Dolly was a bit slow to get going, but recovered well enough to settle into sixth place early on as Broken Dreams and Cosset led the way through fairly quick fractions of :23.63, :46.75, and 1:10.27. Vivo Per Lei and Camelia Rose were next in line, with Byrony, Halo Dolly, Go Forth North, and City to City trailing the field.

Entering the final quarter of a mile, Halo Dolly began to advance on the outside, taking over the lead just inside the eighth pole. City to City put in an exceptional late run and appeared to have a chance at catching the leader, but Halo Dolly had enough left in the tank to hang on for a 1 1/4-length victory in the good time of 1:40.52 seconds.

Vivo Per Lei stayed on well for third, while Go Forth North, Camelia Rose, Byrony, Cosset, and Broken Dreams completed the order of finish. The winner is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.

-Keelerman

Yellow Ribbon Handicap Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $250,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (gr. II), to be run on Monday at Del Mar. The 1 1/16th miles turf race has drawn an intriguing and evenly-matched field of nine, including John C. Mabee Stakes (gr. II) winner City to City and Las Palmas Stakes (gr. II) winner All Star Heart.

1 Vivo Per Lei
2 Cosset
3 City to City
4 Camelia Rose
5 Broken Dreams
6 Byrony
7 Halo Dolly
8 Go Forth North
9 All Star Heart

-Keelerman