2 California-bred geldings win Breeders' Cup races
By BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - A couple of California-bred geldings have
turned the international Breeders' Cup into a local affair, with
California Flag and Dancing in Silks winning on their home track.
California Flag lived up to his favorite's status Saturday at
Santa Anita, winning the $1 million Turf Sprint by 1 3/4 lengths.
Dancing in Silks was a big shocker, surviving a four-horse photo
finish to win the $2 million Sprint at 25-1 odds.
Europe-based Pounced opened the second day of the 26th annual
world championships with a win in the $1 million Juvenile Turf on
the synthetic surface.
Eight Breeders' Cup races, highlighted by the $5 million
Classic, were to be run for the second consecutive year at Santa
Anita. The unbeaten mare Zenyatta will be going up against the boys
in the marquee race.
In the Turf Sprint, California Flag ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:11.28.
Jockey Joe Talamo and trainer Brian Koriner, who like the
5-year-old gelding are locally based, earned their first Breeders'
Cup win.
California Flag paid $8.80 to win as the 3-1 favorite, a year
after finishing 10th in the same race.
Dancing in Silks edged Crown of Thorns by a nose in the Sprint
and paid $52.60 to win.
The 4-year-old gelding made Carla Gaines the third woman to
train a Breeders' Cup winner, and the first since Laura de Seroux
saddled Azeri to a victory in the 2002 Ladies' Classic. It was the
first Breeders' Cup win for jockey Joel Rosario, who guided Dancing
in Silks over 6 furlongs in 1:08.14.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had his two-year winning streak
in the race snapped when 9-5 favorite Zensational finished fifth.
He failed to repeat for the second straight year in the $2 million
Juvenile, when 2-1 favorite Lookin at Lucky was beaten a head at
the wire by 30-1 shot Vale of York.
Pounced found room between horses in deep stretch to win the
Juvenile Turf by three-quarters of a length under Frankie Dettori.
Trained by John Gosden, Britain-based Pounced ran one mile on
the turf in 1:35.47.
11/07/09 16:27
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