OPEN SEASON IS GOOD FOR ALL SANTA ANITA'S 69TH SEASON GETS OFF TO STRONG START FOR FANS, TRAINERS.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer ARCADIA - Sal Gonzalez's first opening day at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Since then, Gonzalez's racetrack career has taken him down the elevator and up in the world. Late Monday afternoon, Gonzalez stood in the winner's circle win·ner's circle n. pl. winners' circles An enclosed area at a racetrack where the winning horse and jockey are brought for awards and publicity. Noun 1. as the victorious trainer after Proud Tower Too and jockey David Cohen For other persons named David Cohen, see David Cohen (disambiguation). David Cohen (November 13, 1914 - October 3, 2005), was an American politician, noted for his service in the administration of President Franklin D. held onto the lead from start to finish to spring a 20-1 upset in the $250,000 Malibu Stakes The Malibu Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses of either gender held each December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is the first leg of Santa Anita Park's Strub Series. . It was the first Grade I victory for both Gonzalez and Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. . ``It's exciting to win,'' Gonzalez said. ``But even when it's a claiming race, it's exciting.'' From where he posed for photographs after Proud Tower Too's one-length victory over favored Attila's Storm, Gonzalez looked up at a Santa Anita crowd of 34,590 that contributed to a total betting handle of more than $19 million. The attendance was the biggest for a Santa Anita opener since 1999, and the betting haul was the biggest in the track's 69 seasons. Such a turnout had seemed unlikely when the day dawned rainy and cool. But there was plenty here to interest the sport's latent fans. There was Santa Anita's good luck to have Dec. 26 fall on a Monday when many people were off work. There was pent-up enthusiasm after a rare seven-day break in the local thoroughbred schedule. There was relief to have turf racing back in the program after the problems with the grass course at Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
``It's wonderful,'' said Rick Hammerle, Santa Anita's racing secretary, looking at the crowd around the walking ring before the Malibu. ``It's almost like the old days when we didn't have the Hollywood fall meet, and we went straight (from the Oak Tree meet) to here. People are just glad to be back.'' Spotted in the crowd: baseball's Brad Penny Bradley Wayne Penny[1] (born May 24, 1978 in Blackwell, Oklahoma)[2] is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers.[3] Early career , basketball's Henry Bibby Charles Henry Bibby (born November 24, 1949 in Franklinton, North Carolina) is a former professional basketball player and current assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). and football's Billy Kilmer. ``I was surprised to see this many people,'' Gonzalez said. ``We don't get these crowds anymore.'' Gonzalez, 52, a native of Torraon, Mexico, trains 18 horses, all for owner Daniel Cardenas, who runs a produce company in Sinaloa. Gonzalez's journey from the turf-club kitchen to the winner's circle included a brief time walking horses for Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham and a short career as a jockey in the 1970s. Proud Tower Too ($42.20) appears to be the best horse Gonzalez has trained. A California-bred son of Proud Irish and Dora's Tower, the 3-year-old colt was named for his full brother Proud Tower, the 2000 Cal-bred 2-year-old champion who later broke down and died. Proud Tower Too came into the Malibu, a 7-furlong race that's the final Grade I of the year for 3-year-olds, off a front-running victory by a neck in the On Trust Handicap at Hollywood Park. He was easily overlooked in a race that included Attila's Storm, fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs (3/4 mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the , and Greeley's Galaxy and Wilko, both well-known from the Triple Crown trail. But on a day when the main track seemed to help front-running horses, Proud Tower and Attila's Storm ran 1-2 all the way, finishing in 1:21.62. Attila's Storm took a short lead in mid-stretch but couldn't hold onat the rail, becoming the Malibu's 11th losing favorite in a row. Thor's Echo finished third, Greeley's Galaxy seventh, Wilko 11th. Cohen, 21, a Torrance native, has ridden two of Proud Tower Too's five wins in 16 starts. ``From his last race to this race, he seemed to be a little stronger coming down the lane, so I was definitely a little more confident,'' Cohen said. There were three other stakes Monday at Santa Anita, which resumes its 86-day season Wednesday. Chinese Dragon (Kent Desormeaux riding) and Tedo (Corey Nakatani) won photo finishes in divisions of the Sir Beaufort Stakes, a turf race for 3-year-olds. Da Stoops (Victor Espinoza) won by 8 3/4 lengths in the California Breeders' Champion Stakes California Breeders' Champion Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1935 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Run during the last week of December, the seven Furlong race is open to two-year-old horses bred in the State of California. , the Bob Baffert-trained 2- year-oldrunning 7 furlongs only .01 second slower than Proud Tower Too. Kevin Modesti, (818) 713-3616 heymodesti(at)aol.com |
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