Better Bet, Swiss Lake Yodeler upset Golden State stakes

Better Bet,

Swiss Lake Yodeler upset Golden State stakes

Breaking from the far outside, longshot Better Bet was

hustled into the first turn and assumed command going to the

quarter-pole under Martin Pedroza en route to a half-length

victory in Santa Anita's $200,250

Golden State Juvenile on

the Breeders' Cup Friday undercard. The two-year-old son of Southern Image negotiated one mile

over the fast main track in

1:37 2/5.

Off at 47-1 in the nine-horse field after being well-beaten in the

September 28 FrontRunner at

Santa Anita, Better Bet was ridden by Pedroza for the

first time in the Juvenile.

"I watched the tape of his last race when (Alberto)

Delgado rode him and I could see he got forced out really

wide on the first turn," Pedroza said. "He was out toward

the middle of the racetrack and you could see that he didn't

run that bad. Today, I wanted to get him into the race and

we were able to save ground pretty good into the first turn.

When I asked him, he gave me everything he had."

Trained, owned and bred-in part by Mike Harrington and

his wife, Patricia, Better Bet layed a close second to 65-1

shot Tribal Mystic early, assumed command going to the three-furlong pole and held off the late charge of Electric Eddie

and Mario Gutierrez to hold sway.

Better Bet paid $96 for the win, which saw his earnings

increase to

$190,130 and his record improve to 9-2-1-1.

"I knew Martin fits this horse to a tee," Harrington

noted. "He needed a Pedroza. I'm not sure it was that

important to get in front today because the horse is

tactical...his last race, he had no shot. It just set up

good for him today. He's a better horse than the way he's

been running."

Winless from three starts, Electric Eddie was off at 34-1

and was getting to the winner at the wire. He had a length

to spare over 7-5 favorite Tamarando, who was third in the FrontRunner in his most

recent start and captured the Del Mar Futurity

on September 4.

Completing the order under the wire were Cinmars Dance, Life is a Joy,

California Chrome, Gangnam Guy, Sir Barclay and Tribal Mystic.

One race later, Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams' homebred Swiss Lake Yodeler

took over in the lane of the $200,500

Golden State Juvenile Fillies and drew off for a 2 1/4-length victory over

7-2 favorite Moving Desert.

The bay daughter of Swiss Yodeler ran a mile in 1:37 2/5 and returned $18 as

the seventh pick.

"My horse ran great," Leparoux said. "She

put me in the right position right away because it's a

speed-favoring track today. We knew she would put me on the

lead or close to the pace and we were happy about that

because of the way the track is playing. My horse just kept

on going at the end and I'm glad I won the race."

Swiss Lake Yodeler tracked in third on the backstretch as Moving Desert led

the way through fractions of :46 2/5 and 1:11. She switched leads in midstretch

and took off, easily passing Moving Desert despite a speed-favoring track and

pulled away to score in her stakes bow.

"Yeah, I guess, but she wasn't so far out of it, at least," trainer Jerry

Hollendorfer replied when asked if he was concerned about the track favoring

speed. "We just wanted to get out of the gate and on our way so that we wouldn't

get too far out of it, and it worked out."

Moving Desert was best-of-the-rest, 3 1/4 lengths clear of Rovenna on the

wire. It was just a nose back to Harlington's Rose, who was followed under the

wire by Stole a Kiss, Meinertzhageni, Whatsallthedrama, Time for Angie, Cal Gal

and Smoove It.

Swiss Lake Yodeler broke her maiden in her initial start for Michael Pender

during the Fairplex meet in early September, then was switched to Hollendorfer

and just missed by a neck in an allowance at Santa Anita on October 6. Now

boasting a 3-2-1-0 line the juvenile miss has banked $125,600.

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