Hollywood Notebook

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

RACES:		463
CUSHION TRACK:		319
TURF:		144
FAVORITES:		184 (40 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		100 (22 percent)
TURF WIRE:		31 (22 percent)
CUSHION WIRE:		89 (28 percent)

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).