Saturday, August 02, 2008

HIGHLAND TORREE, COCO BELLE WIN CERF HANDICAP DIVISIONS

Highland Torree and Coco Belle, two fillies with contrasting running styles, accounted for divisions of the featured C.E.R.F. Handicap Friday at Del Mar.

Highland Torree, ridden by Martin Garcia, rallied from off the pace to win the opening section of the six-furlong sprint for older distaffers, while Coco Belle, under Hall of Famer Mike Smith, led from start to finish to win her division.


Highland Torree, a three-year-old daughter of Menifee, scored by a length over La Tee, with 8-5 favored Tizsweetdreams third in a field of eight. The winner, owned by Richard O'Neill Trust and trained by Rafael de Leon, sped the distance in 1:09.17 and returned $8, $3.80 and $2.60. It was her fifth victory in 15 races. First money was $47,910 from a gross purse of $81,650.

Runner-up Le Tee paid $8.60 and $4.80, while Tizsweetdreams returned $2.80 to show.

In the second division, Coco Belle darted to the lead from the gate, set a comfortable pace under Smith and barely held off the late charge of 2-1 favored Silky Smooth and leading rider Rafael Bejarano to win by a nose in a quick 1:08.92.

Silky Smooth was almost three lengths in front of Unspoken Word in a field of eight.

Owned by Mr. And Mrs. Jerry Moss and trained by John Sadler, Coco Belle, a four-year-old daughter of Storm Boot, paid $7.60, $4 and $3 while earning $47,961 from a total purse of $79,935. Like Highland Torree, it was her fifth win in 15 career outings.

Silky Smooth paid $3.20 and $2.40, while Unspoken Word returned $2.80 to show.

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