PICKING A WINNER; STORM TROOPER'S VICTORY A RELIEF FOR DESORMEAUX.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer Kent Desormeaux Kent J. Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970, in Maurice, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year. might be the hottest jockey in the nation this spring, but not even he can win races on both coasts in one afternoon. Monday, he had to watch on television as Jerry Bailey won the $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap is an American Grade I stakes race for Thoroughbred horses of either gender three-years-old and above. The race is run at Belmont Park for a $600,000 purse (with $450,000 given to the winner); its one-mile distance has earned it in the moniker the "Met at Belmont Park Noun 1. Belmont Park - a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes Belmont Elmont - a town on Long Island in New York; site of Belmont Park 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 aboard Wild Rush, a California-based colt Desormeaux rode to a breakthrough victory last time out. But whatever jealousy Desormeaux felt, it lasted only 2-1/2 hours. Then his decision to stay at Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
``Today was a little hairy because of the situation in New York,'' Desormeaux admitted after the Turf Handicap. ``I felt like I gave away a lot when I didn't show up there. How do you choose?'' Actually, Desormeaux said, there wasn't a decision to be made. He agreed to ride Storm Trooper in this race before the Neil Drysdale-trained 5-year-old returned from a second-place finish in Florida last month. The commitment couldn't be broken after Richard Mandella-trained Wild Rush took aim at the Metropolitan. Not that Desormeaux wanted to switch. He and Drysdale have been hot together recently. Storm Trooper's victory was their second in a stakes and third overall in two days. Storm Trooper ($10), stuck behind plodding pacesetters early in the 1-1/4-mile race, got the lead in the stretch and scored his first Grade I victory by 3-1/2 lengths over favored River Bay. Prize Giving finished third. Earlier, in the mud at Belmont, Wild Rush ($11.40) stalked a fast early leader and went on to win by two over Banker's Gold with Accelerator third and favored Distorted Humor and jockey Gary Stevens fifth. Wild Rush will come home to Hollywood Park now and probably will point for 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 Nov. 7 at Churchill Downs. As for Desormeaux, he'll get to New York soon enough to ride Real Quiet in his bid for a Triple Crown sweep in the June 6 Belmont Stakes. Other Memorial Day highlights: Old Topper Topper house he purchases is haunted by the young couple who owned it previously and their dog. [Am. Lit., Cin., TV: Topper in Halliwell, 718] See : Ghost Topper Hopalong Cassidy’s faithful horse. ($4) proved to be more than a sentimental favorite in the Harry Henson Stakes, zipping from last to first to win for jockey Laffit Pincay, 51, and trainer Noble Threewitt, 87. Old Topper returned to main-track sprinting after a flop in the Will Rogers turf mile. Before Harry Henson was Hollywood Park's track announcer from the 1940s to the '80s, he rode Threewitt's first winner at Caliente in 1932. ``It's really something to win the race that honors him,'' the trainer said. The Westchester, the first stakes of the local season for 2-year-old colts, produced a four-way stretch battle won by Sea Twister ($10.20) and jockey Martin Pedroza. The son of Ghazi gha·zi n. pl. gha·zies Islam 1. A man who has fought successfully against infidels. 2. Often used as a title for such a warrior. is 2 for 2 for the Brian Mayberry barn. |
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