OAK TREE OPENER: AZERI STOPS SHY OF DOZEN OWNER BLAMES JOCKEY FOR LOSS.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer ARCADIA - Great thoroughbreds stir emotion in victory and defeat, as Azeri's owner unwittingly demonstrated Sunday at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" ended at 11 races. Apparently too upset to accept that Azeri had an off day, owner Michael Paulson blamed jockey Mike Smith for her loss to Got Koko and Alex Solis, in which she broke a step slowly and dropped back to fifth in the six-horse field early in the $300,000 Lady's Secret Handicap in front of 20,317 fans. ``I don't understand why Mike did that,'' Paulson said. ``That isn't her style of running. You could see she wanted to run several times but he had a tight hold on her.'' Azeri's loss - her second in a 16-race career and first since Summer Colony beat her Feb. 2, 2002, in the La Canada Stakes The La Canada Stakes is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park each year. The La Canada is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt and offers a purse of $200,000. - was the most talked- about result on the Oak Tree season's opening day, which saw other Breeders' Cup prep races won by favorites Storming Home, Tates Creek and Halfbridled. ``He (Smith) gave me a scare before the race (when) he said, `Oh, I'm going to hold her back and see how the pace sets up,' '' Paulson said. ``Once he saw the slow pace, he should have took the lead and ran away with it. I'll talk to Mike and see what happened. But I'm going to be a little more vocal about how this horse is going to be ran in the future. ``But that's racing,'' said Paulson, son of the late owner-breeder Allen Paulson (Cigar, Arazi). ``We've got to be good sports. I commend the winners. Azeri's the champ. She'll be back and start a new streak.'' The defeat is a blow to the 5-year-old's chance of repeating as Horse of the Year, a championship that might have been clinched by Mineshaft mine·shaft n. A vertical or sloping passageway made in the earth for finding or mining ore and ventilating underground excavations. Noun 1. in Saturday's Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers . After crossing the wire third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Got Koko ($12), Azeri (1-5 odds) was moved to second in the official order when runner-up Elloluv was disqualified dis·qual·i·fy tr.v. dis·qual·i·fied, dis·qual·i·fy·ing, dis·qual·i·fies 1. a. To render unqualified or unfit. b. To declare unqualified or ineligible. 2. to fourth for interfering with Adoration in the stretch. Azeri, carrying 128 pounds - 10 more than Got Koko - made up ground after running about four lengths behind the 23.46-47.23-1:11.29 pace set by long shot Royally Chosen but never was a threat to win the 1 1/16-mile Lady's Secret. As slow as Paulson thought the pace was, Got Koko actually rallied from last to win in 1:42.92. ``I'm at a loss for words,'' said Smith, a Hall of Famer who has ridden Azeri in every start. ``I got her out (in the clear) in plenty of time to get her running, but I just couldn't get her running.'' The Lady's Secret is the major local prep for the Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. It is sponsored by the airline Emirates. , one of the eight Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita on Oct. 25. Paulson indicated he'll still consider running Azeri against males in the 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 other preps Sunday, Halfbridled, ridden by Julie Krone, ran away with the Oak Leaf to remain the favorite for the Juvenile Fillies; Tates Creek, with Pat Valenzuela, squeezed through to win the Yellow Ribbon on her way to the Filly & Mare Turf; and Storming Home, with Gary Stevens, won the Clement Hirsch Turf Championship and head to the Turf. It was the first time Stevens rode Storming Home since their accident at the finish of the Aug. 16 Arlington Million. --Notes: Chinkapin Noun 1. chinkapin - small nut of either of two small chestnut trees of the southern United States; resembles a hazelnut chincapin, chinquapin edible nut - a hard-shelled seed consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell and Omar Berrio outfinished Denied to win the Ralph M. Hinds Memorial on closing day at Fairplex Park. ... Perfect Drift and Pat Day beat Tenpins tenpins: see bowling. in the Hawthorne Gold Cup in Illinois. ... Trainer Bobby Frankel's victory with Tate's Creek was his 22nd in a Grade I stakes this year, tying D. Wayne Lukas' 1987 record. Kevin Modesti, (818) 713-3616 kevin.modesti(at)dailynews.com |
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