SANTA ANITA OPENING DAY: KRONE `THE BOMB!' FANS DELIGHT AS LEGENDARY FEMALE JOCKEY TAKES FEATURE ON LONGSHOT.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer ARCADIA - The show has barely started at Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, USA. It is known for offering some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the autumn and in winter. Racing at Santa Anita began in 1934. , and it has already been stolen by Julie Krone Julie A. Krone (b. July 24, 1963, Benton Harbor, Michigan), is an American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. . In the latest magic moment in the Hall of Fame jockey's unlikely comeback, Krone rode into the first afternoon of the new thoroughbred season Thursday and made off with the feature race, a slice of history and fans' affections. ``Honestly,'' Krone said, ``other than winning the Belmont (Stakes), I've never been this excited about anything.'' Maybe that's not the overstatement o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o it seems. Krone's victory in the $200,000 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. came on the kind of horse she loves, a one-time cheap claiming gelding gelding castrated male horse. named Debonair deb·o·nair also deb·o·naire adj. 1. Suave; urbane. 2. Affable; genial. 3. Carefree and gay; jaunty. Joe who had to rally from next to last in the field of 11 to win by a head at 26-1 odds. It made her the first woman to ride a Grade I stakes winner in California. And it set alight a disappointing opening-day crowd of 25,677. 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 , New Jersey and Florida, where the 39-year-old Krone earned most of her 3,562 career victories, they got used to scenes like the one that unfolded as she galloped Debonair Joe to 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. . Fans rushed to the grandstand rail and called her name. More leaned over the entrance to the tunnel where she would walk. A few thrust programs and autographing pens at her as the 4-foot-10 1/2 blonde strode to the jockeys room. ``Julie, you're the bomb!'' a female fan shouted. Maybe never before have Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
adv. In one group or body; all together: The protesters marched en masse to the capitol. [French : en, in + masse, mass. for a $55.60 winner, a horse that, by definition, few bet on. But never before have Santa Anita fans seen Julie Krone ride a winner. After her return from a 3 1/2-year retirement Nov. 1, Krone rode 16 winners in 35 days at Hollywood Park to finish seventh in that track's jockey standings, impressive for a newcomer to the circuit. ``Maybe it's that coming back, and the whole scheme of it, is a little overwhelming,'' Krone said of her excitement. ``I'm so grateful.'' Krone grabbed a sports writer by the shoulders and shook him. ``I just won a Grade I stake at Santa Anita!'' she said in that one-of-a-kind squeak of a voice. ``I didn't sleep solidly last night, being so excited about opening day.'' Krone's five other mounts Thursday finished out of the money. Debonair Joe wasn't considered a contender in the 7-furlong Malibu, even though Krone had ridden him to a 52-1 upset in the Underwood Stakes at Hollywood Park three weeks ago. But Debonair Joe, whom trainer Juan Pablo Silva and owner Lynne Ristad claimed for only $12,500 at Fairplex Park in September, was ready to pounce when Total Limit and Laffit Pincay (second) and American System and Pat Valenzuela (third) tired each other dueling for the lead and Mayakovsky (ninth) and Sunday Break (11th) didn't fire. Charging down the middle of the track under left-handed whipping by Krone, Debonair Joe got up in the final strides. ``He had a real concept of where the wire was, and he laid it on 'em,'' Krone said. The early success of Krone's comeback has been a surprise to almost everybody except those who caught her act on the East Coast, where she became an icon by winning the 1993 Belmont aboard Colonial Affair. Besides her riding ability, said Mike Smith, another former eastern jockey doing well here, ``She's a great people person. She'll run right up to somebody and say, `I want to ride your horse!' '' The Malibu upset was the big reason nobody hit the pick-six, creating a $195,156 carryover for today. In other stakes races Thursday, Excessive Pleasure ($12.60) and David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the romped in the $125,000 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. for 2-year-olds in the gelding's second career start for trainer Doug O'Neill, and Inesperado ($7.40) and Pat Valenzuela edged Music's Storm in the $78,050 Sir Beaufort on the turf for trainer Bobby Frankel. Frankel's horses earned $49,140 to put him $233,790 away from D. Wayne Lukas' 1988 season earnings record of $17,842,358. Flores, Corey Nakatani and Alex Solis rode two winners each. But on the first of 85 racing days at Santa Anita, Krone's single victory made her the star. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE |
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