Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28 at Hollywood Park

Santa Anita Handicap winner Heatseeker will compete with Oaklawn Handicap winner Tiago along with 8 older horses in the 69th running of the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (gr. I) on Saturday, June 28, at Hollywood Park.

The complete field of Hollywood Park’s 1-mile Hollywood Gold Cup with jockeys, weight and morning line odds:

  1. Mast Track ridden by jockey Tyler Baze carries 113 lbs. with morning line odds of 20-1
  2. Perfect Drift ridden by jockey Victor Espinoza, 115 lbs., 15-1
  3. Heatseeker (IRE) ridden by jockey Rafael Bejarano, 123 lbs., 7-5
  4. Tiago ridden by jockey Mike Smith, 121 lbs., 9-2
  5. Racketeer ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, 113 lbs., 15-1
  6. Student Council ridden by jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, 117 lbs., 6-1
  7. Go Between ridden by jockey Garrett Gomez, 118 lbs., 7-2
  8. McCann’s Mojave ridden by jockey Frank Alvarado, 115 lbs., 20-1
  9. Big Booster ridden by jockey Corey Nakatani, 116 lbs., 15-1
  10. Spice Route (GB) ridden by jockey Alex Solis, 113 lbs., 20-1

Heatseeker, the 123-pound high weight and 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Grade I event, will spot Tiago two pounds and his rivals as much as ten pounds, but some think it won’t prove to be a burden.

Online Horse Betting

Tiago, the half-brother of 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, won the 2007 Santa Anita Derby, Swaps Stakes and Goodwood Handicap before tangling with Heatseeker this year. He finished fourth in the Santa Anita Handicap, upset his rival by a head in the Oaklawn Handicap, and finished 5 lengths back in second as Heatseeker cruised to victory in The Californian.

“Unless Heatseeker is carrying an anchor, I don’t know how we’re going to catch him,” said John Shirreffs, trainer of Tiago.

Heatseeker enters the race with seven wins in 17 starts and earnings of $1,180,223.

“He seems to be doing very well,” said Heartseeker’s trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. “He’s been training very well for quite a while now, and he’s been a very consistent horse for me. I hope he’s coming up to this race in as good a form as I think he is.”

Perhaps Heatseeker’s most intriguing challenger is the nine-year-old Perfect Drift, who has made $4,699,321 with 11 wins in 47 starts, but has not won since capturing the 2005 Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park. The third-place finisher under Eddie Delahoussaye in the 2002 Kentucky Derby, he will be making his second start for trainer Richard Mandella following a ten-month layoff. Perfect Drift finished fourth in the Shoemaker Mile on Memorial Day.

“I know he’s got the capability of winning a Grade I race like this,” said horse trainer Richard Mandella, who has saddled two Hollywood Gold Cup winners. “I thought the Shoemaker Mile was a pretty good test to see what level he was at. He was very competitive considering he hadn’t run in a long time, and he wasn’t on his preferred surface.”

The Hollywood Gold Cup, which has been won by such racing legends as Seabiscuit, Swaps, Citation and Cigar, will the 10th race in Hollywood Park’s June 28 horse racing program. Hollywood Gold Cup post time is 4:30 pm PST.

Horse racing news edited from www.ntra.com.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

"Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28 at Hollywood Park" was posted on 26 June 2008 11:23 PM under Horse Racing News, Horses, Racing Picks & Betting Tips, Stakes Races

© 2012 Horses Wild: Free 2011 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Racing Picks, Betting Tips, Post positions, Entries, Results & Payouts