CLOSE-UP FAVORS LAVA MAN FAVORITE WINS IN PHOTO FINISH.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Staff Writer INGLEWOOD -- The Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. went down to a photo finish Saturday afternoon, and when the digital picture was posted minutes later, it showed Horse of the Year front-runner Lava Man Lava Man (foaled on March 20, 2001) is a dark bay gelded thoroughbred race horse by Slew City Slew (Seattle Slew) out of L'il Ms. Leonard (Nostalgia's Star) who rose from the lowest levels of claiming races to become regarded by many racing fans and members of the racing media as a in a flattering new light. In none of Lava Man's previous major victories did the 5-year-old gelding gelding castrated male horse. overcome trouble, or have the pace dictated to him, or look a determined rival in the eye. But if the charge was that his triumphs have been too easy, it vanished in one of the most thrilling races in Hollywood Park's 67-year history. After stumbling almost to his knees as he left the starting gate starting gate n. Sports 1. A series of stalls with interconnected doors that open simultaneously at the beginning of a race. 2. , letting the well-regarded Magnum take a surprise early lead, Lava Man looped from third to first on the turn for home only to face an inch- by-inch rally from long shot Ace Blue on his outside in the last 100 yards. ``I think Ace Blue may have pulled off a shocker shock·er n. One that startles, shocks, or horrifies, as a sensational story or novel. Noun 1. shocker - a shockingly bad person bad person - a person who does harm to others 2. in the Hollywood Gold Cup!'' Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
``I thought we got beat,'' said Doug O'Neill, Lava Man's trainer. The photo, though, showed Lava Man and jockey Corey Nakatani ''' Corey S. Nakatani (born October 21, 1970 in Covina, California, United States) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. As of 2006, Nakatani has won more than 3000 races including the Kentucky Oaks twice, the Canadian International Stakes, the Dubai Golden the winners by the shortest of noses over Ace Blue and Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California. . Super Frolic Frolic - A Prolog system in Common Lisp. ftp://ftp.cs.utah.edu/pub/frolic.tar.Z. finished three-quarters of a length back in third as Magnum staggered in fourth and Seek Gold was a distant last. The 1 1/4-mile race was clocked in 2:01.16, and if the time wasn't impressive, that was understandable. This Gold Cup was a battle that must have taken it out of all five runners. It was a little different from a year ago, when Lava Man scored the first of his four Grade I victories, winning the $750,000 race by a Gold Cup-record 8 3/4-length margin. This time, O'Neill and owners Steve and Dave Kenly and Jason Wood This article is about the Australian politician. For other famous people by this name, see Jason Wood (disambiguation). Jason Wood (born 24 May 1968), Australian politician, was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of La had their hearts in their mouths from the start, to say nothing of the bettor who apparently plunked down a six-figure wager to show on Lava Man, who went off at 3-5 and paid $3.20, $2.80 and $2.10. The result gave Lava Man several historical markers: He became the second repeat winner in the Gold Cup, following fellow California-bred Native Diver in 1965-66-67. He became the most financially successful claim in history, raising his earnings to $2,806,103 since O'Neill claimed him for $50,000 in 2004, breaking a record held by Budroyale. He became the first horse to win the Whittingham Handicap on turf and the Gold Cup on dirt at the same meet since Exceller in 1978. He became the first horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during and the Gold Cup in the same year since Affirmed in 1979 He made O'Neill (who won the 2002 Gold Cup with Sky Jack) the first trainer to win the Gold Cup three times in a five-year span since Charlie Whittingham took four in a row in the early 1970s. Said Jerry Hollendorfer, the Bay Area-based trainer of Ace Blue: ``We're disappointed. But what can you say? We were beaten by a horse who has a chance to be a legend. He had it put to him today, and he was carrying more weight. You have to say he dug down deep.'' Assigned 124 pounds, Lava Man faced a handicap of between five (against Magnum, whose rider Patrick Valenzuela came in one pound overweight) and 10 (against Ace Blue). Lava Man also faced the unusual handicap of spending the 24 hours before the race under surveillance in the Hollywood Park detention barn, as must all of O'Neill's horses for a month since a horse's excessive carbon-dioxide reading. Neither of those hurdles was potentially as disastrous as the start of the race, in which Lava Man seemed to have the dry soil break away from his hooves hooves n. A plural of hoof. hooves Noun a plural of hoof hooves hoof as he burst from post position 1. An experienced runner, making his 32nd start and winning for the 12th time, he kept his feet under him and went on. But by then an eager Magnum had seized the lead that was supposed to go to Lava Man. Valenzuela -- who rode Lava Man last year before a schedule conflict prevented the jockey from accompanying the horse to a race in Japan -- could have trapped the favorite on the rail had Nakatani not stayed cool and angled to the outside. ``I wasn't too worried about (the stumble),'' said Nakatani, 35, who won his first Gold Cup. ``I'll tell you what, he's definitely the best horse I've ridden up to this point. He's the best horse in the country, dirt and turf. He's just double-tough.'' heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com (818) 713-3616 CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Lava Man and Corey Nakatani, foreground, nose out Ace Blue, ridden by Victor Espinoza, to capture the Hollywood Gold Cup on Saturday at Hollywood Park. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. (2) Jockey Corey Nakatani is all smiles after riding Lava Man to a win at the Hollywood Gold cup. Chris Pizzello/Associated Press Box: HORSES OF THE HALF YEAR? |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion