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Upsets galore on Gold Rush Day
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Mr. Wolverine sliced to the front in the Khaled
(Benoit Photo) |
Begue, Dreyfus and Venneri Racing's MR. WOLVERINE (Last Lion) swept three wide entering
the stretch and pulled away to a 1 3/4-length win in the $150,000
Khaled S. as
part of the California Gold Rush Day for state-breds at Hollywood Park on Sunday. This was
supposed to be a successful return to the races for the brilliant Lava Man (Slew
City Slew), but nobody told Mr. Wolverine, who earned his first black-type score
in here for conditioner Jorge Gutierrez. The 7-2 third choice finished 1 1/8
miles on the firm turf in 1:48 2/5 beneath Michael Baze and returned $9, $4.80 and
$3.60.
Epic Power (Epic Honor) went to the front and Lava Man secured a perfect
pressing position on his outside flank, as the duo almost went in tandem in soft
splits of :25 1/5, :50 1/5 and 1:13 3/5 for the opening six panels. Approaching
the final turn the leaders began to quicken, but so did Mr.
Wolverine, who swept by the pair in a quick burst.
"The race set up perfect," Baze said. "Those two were just killing each other
while we were sitting third outside. I just let him break and get his feet under
him, and when it came time to run, he said, 'Here we go.'"
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Epic Power stayed on to hold off Lava Man for runner-up honors by three parts of a length, good for $7.80
and $4 at nearly 10-1. The exacta paid $25.70 ($1). Lava Man, who went postward
as the 3-2 second choice, held third in his return and paid $3.20 while
completing the $94.30 trifecta ($1).
Trainer Doug O'Neill was a "little disappointed" with Lava Man's third-place
finish.
"We'll have to kind of see how he comes out of it and evaluate him then,"
O'Neill said. "But as long as he's fine in the morning, we can battle another
race. I thought he looked dynamite early on. He just got a little bit tired."
Top This and That (Old Topper) was next and
followed by Dawn's Early Sky (Score Early) and 6-5 favorite Celtic Dreamin (Game
Plan), who showed little.
Mr. Wolverine exited a second-place showing in the Crystal Water H., the
second time he has achieved that feat, and boosted his career line to 11-4-3-2,
$274,886.
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Harlene (yellow cap) skimmed the rail to take the Snow Chief
(Benoit Photo) |
Claimboxdotcom et al's HARLENE (Decarchy) picked an opportune time to break
his maiden for O'Neill when rallying strongly along the rail late to upset the $250,000
Snow
Chief S. Sent postward at odds of nearly 34-1, the winless sophomore saved
ground in midpack early before putting in his winning run under Michael Baze,
catching a clear Dewey's Special (Skimming) by a neck on the line. The final
time for the nine-furlong test was 1:49 4/5. The gelding was third in the California Cup Juvenile S., but had
never finished first or second in six tries prior to this event. The $150,000
winner's share boosted the three-year-old's bankroll to $183,560 from his
7-1-0-4 record.
"That was truly unbelievable," said O'Neill, who also saddled the third-place
finisher, the maiden One Chin Again (Beau Genius). "(Harlene has) always trained
like a horse that the distance wouldn't be a problem. And, though it was a
little ambitious to run a maiden against winners, it was restricted to Cal-breds,
it was three-year-olds only -- we thought we'd take a chance. That's the beauty
of this game. You take a chance, and every now and then, you can have a moment
like that."
In the $200,000
Melair S., Madeline Auerbach et al's
BEL AIR SIZZLE
(Unusual Heat) closed well for second, but was awarded the win via
disqualification for conditioner Barry Abrams. The 5-2 second choice was last
after six furlongs
but closed with good energy to eclipse her initial stakes score under Rafael Bejarano.
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Gambler's Justice (Lit de Justice) went right to the front and had the lead
turning for home, but 3-5 shot Final Fling (Bertrando) was just biding her time
as jockey Garrett Gomez appeared to have a ton of horse tucked in behind the
pacesetter. Jockey Richard Migliore aboard Gambler's Justice appeared to tighten
up on Final
Fling nearing midstretch, causing that one to bounce into the rail and almost
unseat her rider. Final Fling miraculously not only avoided disaster by
retaining her balance, but the favorite also got right back into her best stride
and finished full of run. Gambler's Justice was disqualified for her actions and
placed third after crossing the wire in 1:43 1/5 for the 8 1/2
furlongs, one spot behind Final Fling.
Bel Air Sizzle improved her lifetime line to 9-4-0-1, $259,940, and was one
of two winners for her sire on the card. The three-year-old miss was third in the Providencia
S. (G2) two starts back, and she just captured a turf allowance on Thursday.
Abrams did not intend to enter her in the Melair, but a mix-up occurred at entry
time, and Bel Air Sizzle wound up taking her chance on short rest.
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Spenditallbaby earned just the second stakes of her career in the
B. Thoughtful
(Benoit Photo) |
Mark Fiorito et al's SPENDITALLBABY (Unusual Heat) flew home from last to
capture the $150,000
B. Thoughtful S. as the 12-1 second longest shot on the
board. Also trained by Abrams, the four-year-old chestnut reached the wire in a
stakes-record 1:21 to win the seven-eighths affair by one length under Michael Baze. She added a second stakes win to her resume, following a tally in the 2007 Fleet Treat S.
She owns
seven stakes placings as well, most notably a third-place effort in the San
Clemente H. (G2). The winner now sports $417,730 in earnings from a 21-5-4-3 line.
The day kicked off when Pamela Ziebarth's homebred TUTTA BELLA (Holy Bull)
received a crafty front-running ride from Gomez and held on late to take the
$150,000
Fran's Valentine S. Conditioned by John
Sadler, the five-year-old mare established moderate early splits of :24 4/5, :48
2/5 and 1:11 4/5 before sprinting home in the 1 1/16-mile turf contest, reaching
the wire in 1:41 4/5 while holding on by a neck. A winner of three
straight, Tutta Bella came through on her first stakes try to improve her
lifetime mark to 10-4-4-0 with earnings of $252,720.
Jeffrey Sengara's STELLA MARK (Benchmark) advanced three wide into the
stretch and upset his more accomplished foes in taking the $150,000
Tiznow S.
Claimed for $50,000 from O'Neill four races back, the gelded four-year-old was always in
good striking position and won in facile fashion beneath Brice Blanc, stopping
the teletimer in 1:27 for 7 1/2 furlongs. The Ted West trainee came through in
his stakes debut, upping his bankroll to $261,276 from a 14-5-1-1 record.
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Triple B Farms' BESTDRESSED (Lit de Justice) rallied four wide into the lane
and edged clear by one length to annex the $73,600
Barretts S. beneath Jon
Court. The gray gelding was reserved early before being asked for his best by
Court, wearing down the leaders in the stretch to garner his initial
stakes win. The four-year-old recorded a final time of 1:21 4/5 for the
seven-furlong event for trainer Dan McFarlane. A close third in the
Sensational Star H. in his latest start, the winner upped his bankroll to
$172,500 from a 19-4-3-6 lifetime line.
Aase Headley and Andrew & Irwin Molasky's homebred SANGAY (Stormin Fever)
split horses near the rail inside the final sixteenth and got up by a head to
earn a tally in the $72,800
Warren's Thoroughbreds S. for conditioner Bruce
Headley. The 122-pound co-highweight broke from the widest post but was well
positioned throughout by Mike Smith, closing strongly on the inside to
midstretch and bravely finding her way to the wire first. The final time for
seven-eighths was 1:22 1/5. From a 5-2-1-1 mark, the bay five-year-old
nearly doubled her bankroll to $84,978.
In the $63,200
NTRA S. for maiden
males, Ken Kinakin's DANCING IN
SILKS (Black Minnaloushe) led at every call in posting an impressive, 6
1/4-length romp for Carla Gaines. Second in his debut earlier in the month, the
bay gelding went in :22, :44 2/5 and 1:08, prior to finishing 6 1/2 panels in a
brisk 1:14 1/5, just three ticks off the track record. The lukewarm 3-1 choice,
the only favorite to win on the day, was guided home by Joel Rosario in improving his mark to 2-1-1-0,
$45,600.
The final race of the day went to Dahlberg Farms' homebred SENSITIVE SOUL
(Bernstein), when the Dan Hendricks trainee took command in the lane to post a 1
1/2-length win in the $63,200
Magali Farms S.
for maiden distaffers. The third-time starter broke well
and was always prominent under Victor Espinoza, eventually finding her best
stride inside the final furlong to pull away from her foes, clocking the 6
1/2-furlong finale in 1:16 3/5. The dark bay sophomore now sports $46,000 in
earnings from a 3-1-1-0 career record.
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