HORSE RACING: SURF CAT'S FINISH EASES SOLIS' PAIN.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Staff Writer INGLEWOOD -- A week after Alex Solis' Triple Crown dreams were dashed by Brother Derek's defeat in the Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. , the jockey earned some consolation Saturday with a stakes triple started by Surf Cat at Hollywood Park. ``It took me three or four days to get over losing the Kentucky Derby,'' said Solis, who finished in a dead heat for fourth with Brother Derek behind winner Barbaro. ``But a day like today is fun.'' Solis went 3 for 3 in Hollywood Park's graded stakes, rallying Surf Cat ($2.40) to a 3 1/2-length victory in the $150,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap The Mervyn LeRoy Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred horses run at Hollywood Park Racetrack each year. Open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt, the Mervyn LeRoy is a prep to the Hollywood Gold Cup. , Grey Swallow ($3.20) to a five-length win in the $250,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap on turf, and Siren Lure ($12.40) to a one-length win in the $100,000 Los Angeles Handicap sprint. Surf Cat's fourth victory in a row and seventh in 11 starts for trainer Bruce Headley sets up the 4-year-old for the June 17 Californian and July 8 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. . Last in the five-horse field going into the far turn, Surf Cat quickly got to the lead and covered 11/16mile in a fast 1:40.65 as Spellbinder spell·bind·er n. One that holds others spellbound, especially an enthralling speaker or a particularly interesting book. Noun 1. finished second. Grey Swallow, an Irish-bred making his first start in California, buried early leader Brecon Beacon in the 11/2-mile Jim Murray. Siren Lure, fourth in the betting, was squeezed at the start of the 6-furlong L.A. Handicap and had to pass six horses on the inside. --Baffert wins: Wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? Runner and Victor Espinoza rolled to victory in the $300,000 Lone Star Derby in Dallas as Bob Baffert's 3-year-old continued to be racing's hottest road team. The Southern California-based trainer's out-of-town winners this year included Sinister Minister in the Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. , Bob and John in the Wood Memorial, and Record in the Derby Trial -- before Baffert's poor showing in the Kentucky Derby. heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com (818) 713-3616 |
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