INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Dec. 14, 2008) — Star Nicholas, a two-time winner here in the summer, rallied from fourth in the final quarter under jockey Michael Baze to win Sunday’s $77,275 On Trust Handicap by a half-length over Partywithlarryz.

Star Nicholas, trained by Peter Eurton, bore in through the stretch, but survived a stewards’ inquiry to earn his third win in five starts at Hollywood Park.

"My horse did drift in a little bit, but when I went by him (Partywithlarryz), he got intimidated more than anything,” Baze said. “I never actually made contact with the other horse. So, just going by him and drifting in, the other horse just got scared. This horse is getting better and better every race. He's very easy to ride. My grandma or grandpa could ride this horse."
Star Nicholas, a 5-year-old son of Poteen, covered 7 ½ furlongs on Cushion Track in 1:27.46 while paying $7.60, $3.80 and $2.60 as the second choice in the field of five California-breds. Partywithlarryz, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, returned $5.60 and $3. Dancing in Silks, the 6-5 favorite under Joel Rosario, paid $2.20 to show.

Bejarano, who rode four winners, didn’t get the trip he wanted in the feature.

“My horse was really intimidated when that other horse came in,” he said. “He wanted to back out of there and come around. If I could have had a clear trip, I think I would have won."
Star Nicholas, a winner of four of 13 starts, banked $47,275 to raise his earnings to $173,251.

“He’s getting better all the time,” Eurton said. “He’s got such a turn of foot that he’s not like a typical late-closing sprinter. He can lay closer and can quicken too. He’ll pretty much run on anything, but the (synthetic) seems to suit him because it keeps him healthy. We had a lot of issues with him early on his career.”


Jockey Quotes

MICHAEL BAZE, STAR NICHOLAS, Winner: "My horse did drift in a little bit, but when I went by him he got intimidated more than anything. I never actually made contact with the other horse. So, just going by him and drifting in, the other horse just got scared. This horse is getting better and better every race. He's very easy to ride. My grandma or grandpa could ride this horse."

RAFAEL BEJARANO, PARTYWITHLARRYZ, Second: "My horse was really intimidated when that other horse came in. He wanted to back out of there and come around. If I could have had a clear trip, I think I would have won."


Trainer Quotes

PETER EURTON, STAR NICHOLAS, Winner: “He’s getting better all the time. He’s got such a turn of foot that he’s not like a typical late-closing sprinter. He can lay closer and can quicken too. He’ll pretty much run on anything but the polytrack seems to suit him because it keeps him healthy. We had a lot of issues with him early on his career. He was pretty aggressive today, at least that’s what Michael (Baze) thought. I always thought he was a better seven and one-half to one-miler, but I guess I’m going to have to try (the Sunshine Millions). We’ll talk about it.”