FORMAL GOLD: COAST TO COAST, WIRE TO WIRE? : 4-YEAR-OLD TO FACE GENTLEMEN IN SANTA ANITA HANDICAP.Byline: Brad Nelson Brad Nelson (born December 23, 1982 in Algona, Iowa), is a minor league baseball player in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has played first base and outfield. He was acquired by the Brewers in the fourth round of the 2001 amateur draft. Daily News Staff Writer In the East, there's Skip Away Skip Away (born April 4, 1993), a gray thoroughbred race horse, was named America's Champion 3 Year Old Male in 1996 and twice (1997, 1998) named America's Champion Handicap Horse. . In the West, there's Gentlemen. But as the racing world waits for one of them to step up and become the sport's next hero, the handlers of Formal Gold plan to travel the world to make a case for their horse. The 4-year-old has already provided the biggest surprise of the year by going wire-to-wire to beat 1996 3-year-old champion Skip Away in the $300,000 Donn Handicap The Donn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late January/early February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The race is named after the Donn family, who for many years owned and operated the racetrack. at Florida's Gulfstream Park on Feb. 8. And Sunday, after the cross-country trip, he'll take on Gentlemen and nine others in the 60th running of the $1 million 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 . ``Before the Donn, our intentions were to come (to California),'' owner John Murphy said Friday at Santa Anita as post positions were drawn for the Big 'Cap. ``The Donn just made us feel a little better about coming out here. I wanted to come out as soon as I heard about it. . . . We just want to run against the best.'' Gentlemen would definitely qualify in that category, having won his past five races by a combined 19-1/2 lengths. As the comparisons to the retired Cigar begin to mount, so do the challenges. ``On a given day, Gentlemen could be the best horse in the country,'' Murphy said. ``On a given day, mine could be the best.'' Formal Gold has won five of eight lifetime starts, with two second-place finishes. Mainly because the horse appeared to have tendon trouble, Murphy was able to buy him for $75,000. The horse's earnings have already exceeded $500,000. He made his racing debut last June in the East and won by a whopping 18-3/4 lengths. He won his next three races - all by wide margins - before finishing second in the Grade I Meadowlands Cup and the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby. Then came a fifth-place finish in last October's Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. , in which Formal Gold was caught in close quarters at the start. He was off until the Donn victory, which was jockey Joe Bravo's first Grade I triumph. Murphy, the 65-year-old president of a steel company in Boston, needed to be patient with Formal Gold before the profits started piling up. ``He was a slow starter. He had a lot of tough breaks,'' said Murphy, who has been involved in racing for about five years. ``In his early times, we were ready to run three times and something always happened. . . . Nagging, minor stuff. Bill's (trainer Bill Perry) a good horseman. He doesn't run them if they're not ready.'' Barring injury, Formal Gold will be following Gentlemen to the $4 million Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on March 29. ``If the horse is OK, that's where we're going,'' Murphy said. ``Most of the arrangements have been made.'' Formal Gold drew the No. 8 post for the Big 'Cap and was made the co-fourth choice (with Marlin) at 6-1 on the morning line, the same odds at which he won the Donn. The first three odds choices are all trained by Richard Mandella - Gentlemen (8-5), speed horse Siphon siphon (sī`fən, –fŏn), tube through which a liquid is lifted over an elevation by the pressure of the atmosphere and is then emptied at a lower level. (7-2) and 8-year-old turf specialist Sandpit (5-1), who will be running on dirt for the first time since 1993. The three horses are separated in the betting because of different ownerships. The only horse returning from last year's Big 'Cap is Jenine Sahadi-trained Just Java, who was third at 14-1 odds in '96 behind fellow long shots Mr Purple (18-1) and Luthier lu·thi·er n. One that makes or repairs stringed instruments, such as violins. [French, from luth, lute, from Old French lut; see lute1.] Noun 1. Fever (64-1). Also: A field of 12 was entered for Sunday's $200,000 San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade II event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt. for 3-year-olds at one mile. Hello, ridden by Chris McCarron and trained by Ronald McAnally, was made the 2-1 favorite. . . . Mecke, who finished third in the Donn, has been retired after it was discovered there was a deterioration of his right-front cannon bone cannon bone the 3rd metacarpal (metatarsal) of the horse, or the 3rd and 4th metacarpals (metatarsals) of ruminants. . The 5-year-old, who won last year's Arlington Million and was being pointed for the Dubai Cup, had career earnings of nearly $2.5 million. Santa Anita Handicap The field for Sunday's 1-1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap, which will be run as the seventh race at approximately 3:15 p.m.: Post, Horse, Jockey, Weight, Odds 1. Gentlemen, Gary Stevens, 123, 8-5 2. Just Java, Brice Blanc, 113, 30-1 3. Zanferrier, E. Delahoussaye, 112, 30-1 4. Kingdom Found, Alex Solis, 115, 20-1 5. Sandpit, Corey Nakatani, 121, 5-1 6. Editor's Note, Julio Garcia, 119, 20-1 7. Chequer cheq·uer Chiefly British n. Variant of checker. tr.v. Variant of checker. chequer or US checker Noun a piece used in Chinese chequers See also , Corey Black, 114, 30-1 8. Formal Gold, Joe Bravo, 115, 6-1 9. Marlin, Jerry Bailey, 117, 6-110. 10. Siphon, David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , 120, 7/2 11. The Barking Shark, Chris McCarron, 114, 30-1 Morning line CAPTION(S): Box Box: SANTA ANITA HANDICAP (see text) |
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