Goldencents a gutsy repeat winner of BC Dirt Mile

In the stretch Goldencents understandably saw his lead diminish to 1 1/2

lengths, and he drifted out a touch while obviously fatigued. However, his

younger rival could not gain any appreciable ground late, and Goldencents went

off into retirement at Spendthrift Farm on a high note with a successful 1

1/4-length title defense in a time of 1:35 over a fast track.

"I knew I was going fast and I had to find a way to give him a little break

from the three-eighths to the quarter-pole. I was able to do that," Bejarano

said. "When the other horse started to come to me, I held onto him just a little

bit before I turned him loose. When I turned him loose, he fired big."

Rosie Napravnik,

aboard Tapiture, said: "He

really ran a courageous race. Turning into the stretch I really didn't think

there was any way I could get beat. But Goldencents is a really good horse. He

(my horse) kept fighting, but I just couldn't get by him."

Most likely the shortest-priced winner of a Breeders' Cup race this weekend,

Goldencents paid $3.40 as the 7-10 favorite.

Tapiture finished five lengths clear of Pants On Fire, who was followed by

Bronzo, Big Bane Theory, Carve, Fed Biz, Golden Ticket, and Vicar's in Trouble.

Jockey John Velazquez dismounted from Vicar's in Trouble after the colt

pulled up lame.

Dr. Wayne McIlwraith subsequently reported that Vicar's in Trouble suffered

an undisplaced condylar fracture in the left front fetlock.

The bay brought with him a case of seconditis, missing by a head in the

six-furlong Bing Crosby, a length in the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien and a

half-length in the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Goldencents

stretched back out a bit for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and proved victorious

when wiring that contest by 2 3/4 lengths in his penultimate start as a

sophomore. He closed out 2013 with a sub-par seventh-placing in the November 30

Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct and was given plenty of time to recover from the

jam-packed season.

Goldencents made his four-year-old bow in the June 7 Metropolitan Handicap at

Belmont Park, finishing second by a length, then cut that margin to just a

half-length when runner-up in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar. He broke the

seven-furlong track record at the San Diego area course when taking the Pat

O'Brien by 4 1/4 lengths next out, and prepped for this repeat score with a nose

second to Rich Tapestry in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

Goldencents retired with a mark of 18-7-7-0, $3,044,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Rosecrest Farm and Karyn Pirrello, Goldencents brought

$5,500 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall yearling before selling for $62,000 when

going through the auction ring as the penultimate horse in the 2012 year's OBS

June sale. He is out of the winning Banker's Gold mare Golden Works, who is

herself a daughter of multiple stakes queen Body Works.

Canadian champion and 1983 Kentucky Derby winner Sunny's Halo is also part of

the female family.

Click here for the

transcript from the winning connections.

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