Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez swept both graded stakes on closing day at Del Mar, guiding Sacred Wish to an upset in Sunday’s Matriarch (G1) and wiring the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) aboard Clock Tower.

Reigning Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Idiomatic earned a fees-paid berth back to the Breeders’ Cup when dominating Sunday’s $600,000 Spinster (G1) at Keeneland for the second straight year.

Road to the Kentucky Derby alumni took center stage in Saturday’s $500,000 Virginia Derby (G3) at Colonial Downs.

Saturday’s Pegasus Preview Day at Gulfstream Park included preps for turf performers with designs on the Jan. 27 blockbuster card.

After the running of the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) at a yielding Aqueduct, persistent rain washed the Belmont Turf Sprint and Jockey Club Derby off the turf. The surface switch materially altered their character.

The feature event on Day 2 of Royal Ascot produced a surprising upset as 12-1 longshot Mostahdaf beat a bevy of top-level winners in the Prince of Wales’s (G1).

One trainer swept Gulfstream Park’s inaugural turf stakes for two-year-olds with designs on Royal Ascot, but it wasn’t Wesley Ward.