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HOLLYWOOD NOTEBOOK JULY 14, 2010 by John Mucciolo The headline race of the summer meeting was held last week at Hollywood Park. Hollywood Gold Cup (G1): West Point Thoroughbreds' AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) finally broke through at the highest level with a late run under David Flores to win at 8-1 odds. The hard-knocking veteran endured 1 1/4-miles on the Cushion Track in 2:03 1/5 for trainer Craig Dollase. Triple Bend H. (G1): Arnold Zetcher's E Z'S GENTLEMAN (Yankee Gentleman) annexed his first graded win with a sharp performance in this dash for conditioner Bob Baffert, rolling home by 3 1/4-lengths at the wire. Piloted by Martin Pedroza, the peaking five-year-old sped seven-eighths in 1:21. Track Stats From a total of 27 races held over the Inglewood racetrack during the three-day race week, favorites won at a 33 percent clip and the top two betting choices combined for 56 percent of the wins. From 19 frays contested on the Cushion oval, seven animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (37 percent), while one of the eight grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (12 percent). After two weeks of horses breaking from the rail winning at a very low rate on the main oval, we saw five breaking from the innermost post and become victorious from 19 Cushion Track events. The first three races of the week on the main strip were won in wire-to-wire fashion, while four of the next 16 were won in that way. The lone turf winner to lead at every call was a 78-1 shot. Meet Totals
HORSES TO WATCH Friday (7/9) 5TH -- SERIOUSLY (Gulch) rebounded with a nice showing in here, closing powerfully to win this under Rafael Bejarano. The sophomore filly is kin to a horse who was useful at middle-to-long distances on the green, so we would like to see this one stretch out soon. 6TH -- The Marty Jones-trained DON PERICO (In Excess [Ire]) finished a nice third in his debut in here and the California-bred gelding is surely one to watch in his return. Saturday (7/10) 4TH -- Z Z WARRIOR (Dixie Union) is another precocious runner produced from his dam and there is no telling how good this sophomore can be under Baffert's care. The three-year-old colt is an exciting prospect in California. 6TH -- Triple Bend runner-up SANGAREE (Awesome Again) was second to a nice horse once again and has a graded stakes with his name on it somewhere out there. Running at a distance shorter than he prefers, the five-year-old offered a nice rally beneath Martin Garcia. Sunday (7/11) 7TH -- SCORED (Came Home) returned from a lengthy layoff to finish a fine third in here for conditioner Bruce Headley and we expect a move forward next out for the talented five-year-old gelding. 8TH -- IZSHELEGAL (Maria's Mon) faced stakes foes in her juvenile debut and nearly pulled off a big upset in here for trainer Terry Knight. Last after the opening quarter-mile, the debuter closed with good energy to finish clear in second. She will likely be tough to hold off in a maiden race. A Look Ahead The $200,000 Swaps S. (G2) and $150,000 A Gleam H. (G2) headline the Saturday card at Hollywood, while Sunday's feature is the $100,000 Sunset H. (G3).
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