GENERALLY SPEAKING BAFFERT, NAKATANI OOZE ADMIRATION FOR GOLD CUP FAVORITE GENERAL CHALLENGE.Byline: Frank C. Girardot Frank C. Girardot (1961 in Detroit, Michigan) worked during the 1980s and 1990s as a copyboy, reporter and sportswriter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, The Pasadena Star-News and The Los Angeles Daily News. Staff Writer INGLEWOOD - It's been almost three months since General Challenge ran his last race. While some handicappers might use that against him in Sunday's $1 million Grade I, 1 1/4-mile 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. , the factors in General Challenge's favor are impressive. He is one of nine horses The group called Nine Horses is a collaboration between David Sylvian, his brother and frequent collaborator Steve Jansen and electronic composer/remixer Burnt Friedman. running in the race. Post positions were drawn Thursday. Among the other notables running are Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982 by a consortium of North American racing organizations, led by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. winner Cat Thief, who drew the inside post; New York Derby The New York Derby is the second leg of the "Big Apple Triple," a grouping of three races in New York state for New York breds. A horse who wins all three of the Big Apple Triple wins the purse total of $400,000 plus a $250,000 bonus. winner David; Chilean challenger Big Ten, and Irish import Blueprint. As for his credentials, both trainer Bob Baffert Bob Baffert (born January 13, 1953 in Nogales, Arizona) is an American horse owner and trainer. He graduated from the University of Arizona's Racetrack Management Program with a Bachelor of Science degree. 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 say General Challenge, who will be racing from the seven hole, might be among the best either has been associated with. That alone should be enough to recommend the chestnut gelding gelding castrated male horse. . On paper, he's stellar. General Challenge, a Cal-bred, leads the Gold Cup field in stakes wins with five and Grade I victories with three. He has two wins and a third in four starts in 2000 and is coming off an exceptional series of workouts at Santa Anita. Lifetime, he has nine wins in 16 starts and has earned $2.61 million. ``Those who know him best have little doubt about General Challenge's potential to continue as one of the country's top horses. He's definitely going to hold a special part in my heart for a long time. He's the horse I won 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 with,'' said Nakatani, reflecting on the 4-year-old son of General Meeting. ``General Challenge is as good a horse as I've ever ridden.'' That March 4 triumph, by 1 1/4 lengths over Budroyale, placed General Challenge atop the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's older horse division. The win followed victories in such prestigious races as the 1999 Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar, December's Grade III Native Diver Handicap at Hollywood Park and the Grade II Strub Stakes in February. Selling points indeed. But the layoff, General Challenge's most significant amount of time away from racing since breaking his maiden in November 1998, is seen by some as a big knock. They have to look no further than his last race, which was a disaster by all accounts. Going off as the 1-5 favorite in the April 9, Grade II San Bernardino Handicap at Santa Anita, General Challenge finished a disappointing third behind Gold Cup entrants Early Pioneer and David. Two days after that, Baffert learned his horse was sick with an ``entrapped epiglottis epiglottis (ĕp'əglŏt`ĭs): see larynx. throat ulcer'' and agreed to surgery. But that dark cloud might have a silver lining, according to Baffert. ``He had three weeks to heal up completely,'' Baffert said. ``It was a very touchy situation. It could have gotten disastrous. It took him time to get back in shape, but it worked out. Now he's training like his old self.'' While a win Sunday would certainly signify that General Challenge is back, it would also vault him into an elite class of runners, namely horses that have won both the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup in the same year. The last time that feat was accomplished was in 1979 by Affirmed. The others on the list include Crystal Water in 1977, Ack Ack in 1971, Noor in 1950 and Kayak II in 1939. Each winner of the Gold Cup is honored with his name and silks on Hollywood Park's outer wall. It's a fact of which Baffert is well aware. ``Who doesn't want to win a million-dollar race?'' he asked. ``But to win the Hollywood Gold Cup is a big thing. Just to know a horse you trained is going to have his name on that big wall out there is a big thing. To me, that mark up there is like winning a classic.'' Post time for the Hollywood Gold Cup is 2:40 p.m. The race is the fourth in the five-race series, ``NTRA NTRA National Thoroughbred Racing Association NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Egypt) NTRA National Training Reform Agenda NTRA Nano Technology Research Association (Korea) Champions on Fox'' General Challenge, the morning-line favorite at 9-5, is eligible for a $1.28 million bonus paid to any horse who wins three of the races in the series. The Santa Anita Handicap put one win under his saddle, but he'll have to win Sunday and again on Aug. 6 in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga to collect the money. Baffert has made no decision on General Challenge's next move. But the horse can next race in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of or (if he loses Sunday) in the Pacific Classic in Del Mar. It's up to General Challenge, Baffert said. ``He's a very talented horse,'' Baffert said. ``He's the best horse in the race.'' HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP When: Sunday Where: Hollywood Park Purse: $1 million TV: 2 p.m., Channel 11 (post time approx. 2:40 p.m.) Early Favorites: General Challenge, 8-5; Out of Mind, 5-2; Chester House, 7-2; Big Ten, 9-2; Early Pioneer, 6-1. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (Bob Baffert) Box: Hollywood Gold Cup (see text) |
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