RACING PROGRAM FULL OF GOLD PINCAY FAREWELL, THREE BIG RACES MAKE FOR SPECIAL DAY.Byline: Art Wilson Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 in Macon, Illinois; died June 12, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois) was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Art Wilson was the catcher for Cubs pitcher Hippo Vaughn during the "double no-hitter" game in 1917. Staff Writer Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
Not only is it Gold Cup day, but two Grade II races - the $400,000 Swaps Stakes The Swaps Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses run at Hollywood Park Racetrack each year. The race is open to horses, age three. willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it carries a purse of $400,000. and $250,000 A Gleam Invitational Handicap The A Gleam Invitational Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in California in the United States of America. It is held on the same day as the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack, usually the beginning of July. - also are on tap, along with the first official farewell to legendary jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. The $750,000 Grade I Gold Cup, to be run at 1 1/4 miles over the main track, has attracted a field of seven, headed by the Bob Baffert-trained Congaree and Harlan's Holiday. Both Congaree and Harlan's Holiday, two of the best older horses in training, need victories to stay in the hunt for Horse of the Year. They are coming off troubled trips - Congaree bobbled at the start in the 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 on May 26 and finished sixth, and Harlan's Holiday wound up fifth in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont on June 14 after breaking slowly and racing wide - and another defeat would prove costly when Eclipse ballots are counted later this year. Congaree is the morning-line favorite at 8-5 and will be ridden by Jerry Bailey. He's 3 for 5 this year and will try to become only the second horse since Best Pal in the 1990s to win both the Swaps and Gold Cup. The 5-year-old son of Arazi won the 2001 Swaps in his only race over the Hollywood track, but he's never won at the classic 1 1/4-mile distance in three tries. He lost by a head to Milwaukee Brew in this year's 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 , another 1 1/4-mile race. Harlan's Holiday, meanwhile, also never has won at today's distance. He's 0 for 5, including a seventh-place finish in last year's Kentucky Derby, when the 4-year-old son of Harlan went postward as the 6-1 favorite. At 2-1, he's the second choice today. The only horse in the race who's won at 1 1/4 miles is Kudos, trained by Richard Mandella and coming off an impressive score in the Grade II Californian on June 14. The 6-year-old gelded geld 1 tr.v. geld·ed or gelt , geld·ing, gelds 1. To castrate (a horse, for example). 2. To deprive of strength or vigor; weaken. son of Kris S. got a quick pace to run at, trailed by 7 1/2 lengths early and then rallied strongly in the stretch to win by a half-length under Alex Solis. With speedsters Golden Ticket, Western Pride and Congaree in the field, Kudos figures to have plenty of speed to run at today, as well. Kudos, third in both the 2003 and 2002 Big 'Caps and the 3-1 third choice today, has won 7 of 23 races lifetime and is 1 for 4 this year with a second and two thirds. ``There is some pretty classy speed in front of us, but he does like a mile-and-a-quarter,'' said Mandella, who saddled Gold Cup winners Siphon siphon (sī`fən, –fŏn), tube through which a liquid is lifted over an elevation by the pressure of the atmosphere and is then emptied at a lower level. in 1996 and Gentlemen in '97. All seven Gold Cup starters will carry 124 pounds. Ten Most Wanted is the favorite in the Swaps, a 1 1/8-mile test over the main track. The 3-year-old son of Deputy Commander, trained by Wallace Dollase, finished second to Empire Maker in this year's Belmont and will be ridden again by Pat Day. Pincay, who retired recently as the all-time leading rider with 9,530 victories, will be honored after the sixth race. It's only fitting that the 56-year-old Pincay be honored on Gold Cup day at Hollywood Park, as he won the race a record nine times and captured 16 Hollypark riding titles. Art Wilson, (626) 962-8811 art.wilson(at)sgvn.com GOLD CUP DAY What: 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. , Swaps Stakes and A Gleam Invitational Handicap Where: Hollywood Park When: Today, post time 1 p.m.; Gold Cup post about 5:40 p.m. TV: ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network 2 (coverage begins 5 p.m.) CAPTION(S): box Box: GOLD CUP DAY (see text) |
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