California Contingent Is Shut Out
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Shippers from California -- of the two- and four-legged variety -- didn’t fare well in Miami on Saturday.
Jockeys, trainers and horses based here were blanked in Calder’s annual Summit Of Speed. Riders Patrick Valenzuela, Victor Espinoza and Alex Solis were a combined zero for eight in the races that made up a pick five with a guaranteed pool of $500,000.
Although the sequence was spiced by three upsets, the day’s two richest events were won by the favorites.
Gold Mover, the 3-2 choice, won the $500,000 Princess Rooney Handicap for a second consecutive year, but it wasn’t easy.
Ridden by Jerry Bailey for owner-breeder Edward Evans and trainer Mark Hennig, the 5-year-old Gold Fever mare edged 64-1 shot Vision In Flight by a nose to win for the 13th time in 30 starts.
One race later, Shake You Down, the 5-2 favorite under jockey Mike Luzzi , had no difficulty remaining unbeaten for trainer Scott Lake and owner Robert Cole Jr., winning the $500,000 Smile Sprint Handicap by 8 1/4 lengths.
Claimed for $65,000 on March 12 at Aqueduct, Shake You Down has won five in a row and three of his victories have come in graded stakes.
Echo Eddie, who was a distant second to eventual Eclipse champion Orientate in the 2002 Smile, was ninth as the 7-2 second choice for trainer Darrell Vienna.
Jockey Joe Bravo won two of the other races, scoring with 7-1 shot Joe’s Son Joey in the $100,000 Calder Turf Sprint Handicap and with 8-1 outsider Valid Video in the $300,000 Carry Back.
The other surprise was provided by Ebony Breeze, a 9-1 shot who won the $300,000 Azalea Breeders’ Cup for owner George Steinbrenner’s Kinsman Stable and trainer Bill Mott. Buffythecenterfold, the 19-10 favorite, finished sixth for trainer Mel Stute.
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Making his first start in a year, Full Moon Madness won the $91,800 Robert Kerlan Memorial Handicap for the second time, beating Sea To See and four others at Hollywood Park.
Trained by Bob Marshall for the Corey Family Trust, the 8-year-old Half A Year gelding, who won the Kerlan in 2000, won for the fifth time in seven tries at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Hollywood Park turf. He has won four in a row, 15 of 35 and is closing in on $1 million in earnings.
Full Moon Madness prevailed by half a length in 1:02.19, giving jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. the last of his three wins on the card.
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Whitmore’s Conn ($25.60) rallied past 5-1 shot Quest Star to win the $150,000 Bowling Green Handicap at Belmont Park.
Jean-Luc Samyn rode the 5-year-old son of Kris S. for owners Michael and Lynn Shanley and trainer Randy Schulhofer.
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