Monday, November 05, 2007
APPRENTICE MARTINEZ-CAMPOS COMPLETES FINE BAY MEADOWS MEETING WITH RIDING DOUBLE
Nov. 4, 2007
The talented apprentice Jose Martinez-Campos put the exclamation point on a fine campaign at the 2007 Bay Meadows summer/fall meeting by riding two winners Sunday, closing day of the 52-day season.
Martinez-Campos recorded 48 victories at the summer/fall stand and that total earned him second place in the jockey standings behind perennial champ Russell Baze, who rode 79 winners en route to collecting his 39th career riding title at Bay Meadows.
Martinez-Campos accounted for the early Daily Double Sunday, taking the first race with Quigley Sure Shot ($10.00) and the second with Sea Topper ($4.20). The Daily Double paid $34.20.
Following Baze and Martinez-Campos in the jockey standings were Alex Bisono (37 wins), David Lopez (34) and Luis Contreras (32).
Jerry Hollendorfer saddled 47 winners at the summer/fall meeting to capture his 36th straight training championship at Bay Meadows. Art Sherman finished second in the trainer standings with 41 wins and he was followed by Steve Miyadi (35), William E. Morey (27), Armando Lage (21) and John F. Martin (21).
Thoroughbred racing in the Bay Area moves to Golden Gate Fields, which will open its 2007-2008 season Wednesday. The opening of the Golden Gate Fields meeting will mark a new era of horse racing at the Albany track, as the races will be contested on a new synthetic racing surface called Tapeta Footings.
Live racing will return to Bay Meadows in 2008 when the track opens its winter/spring season on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
SUNDAY BAY MEADOWS SPORTS
SPORTS SUNDAY -- BAY MEADOWS
NOR CAL HORSES POST RICH VICTORIES
IN CALIFORNIA CUP AT SANTA ANITA
Northern California-based horses Bold Chieftain, Gentle Charmer and Sierra Sunset all scored rich victories Saturday at California Cup XVIII, the $1,365,000 racing program for California-breds hosted by the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita.
Bold Chieftain, trained by veteran Bay Area conditioner William J. Morey, Jr. and ridden by Hall of Famer Russell Baze, won the richest race of the day, the $250,000 Cal Cup Classic, by a half-length over Celtic Dreamin. Bold Chieftain paid $13.80 after taking the 1 1/8-miles race for 3-year-olds and up in 1:47.23
"It was a great day," said Morey. "I'm a California breeder, and it's a wonderful experience just to run in one of these races, let alone win one. I've bred a lot of bums, but he's a good one. In our minds, he's a budding star."
Morey bred Bold Chieftain, a 4-year-old colt by Chief Seattle, in partnership with
co-owners Ernest Langbein, Kenneth Robinson, and Duane Hall. The victory in the Classic was worth $150,000 and increased Bold Chieftain's earnings to $465,775. A very consistent horse, Bold Chieftain has seven wins, two seconds and two thirds in 13 career starts.
Gentle Charmer, a 5-year-old mare trained by Ed Moger, Jr. and owned by Curt and Lila Lanning of Los Altos, posted the biggest upset on the Cal Cup card when she won the $150,000 Distaff at odds of 54-to-1.
Ridden by Bay Area jockey Kyle Kaenel, Gentle Charmer charged from ninth in a field of 10 to take the "about" 6 1/2-furlongs turf race by 1 3/4 lengths over Lady Gamer in 1:12.31. Gentle Charmer, who had finished a troubled seventh in the Autumn Leaves Handicap at Bay Meadows on Oct. 6, paid $110.00 to win in the Distaff.
"Before they went in the gate, I told Curt, 'I've never loved a horse any more in my life at 50-to-1,'" said Moger. "In her last race, she clipped heels real bad."
Sierra Sunset, a 2-year-old colt trained by Jeff Bonde and ridden by Baze, captured the $125,000 Bob Benoit Juvenile by 1 1/2 lengths over 9-to-5 favorite My Redeemer.
An eight-length winner of the Bay Meadows Juvenile on Sept. 15, Sierra Sunset went off at 6-to-1 in the Bob Benoit Juvenile and paid $15.60 after winning the 1 1/16-mile feature for 2-year-olds in 1:41.65. Bonde said he was expecting a big effort from Sierra Sunset.
"He couldn't have been training any better going into the race," said Bonde. "If he didn't run the race of his life, I would have been disappointed because he was training so well."
Northern California was also represented well by Rockella, who finished second (beaten three-quarters of a length by favored Imagine) in the $100,000 Distance Handicap, and Lead Stealer, who ran third (beaten a nose for second) in the $50,800 Starter Handicap.
The other Bay Area horses competing in the Cal Cup were: Somethinaboutlaura (who finished fifth in the $150,000 Matron), Bert's Law (sixth in the Juvenile), Zoning In (eighth in the $175,000 Mile), Now Victory (10th in the Mile), and Raise the Heat (sixth in the $50,000 Starter Handicap).
SEABISCUIT HANDICAP -- Putmeinyourwill, receiving a fine ride from veteran jockey Roberto Gonzalez, came from just off the pace to win the $61,830 Seabiscuit Handicap by a neck over even-money favorite Heroi Do Bafra at Bay Meadows. Trained by Hollendorfer, Putmeinyourwill completed 1 1/16 miles on the turf in 1:43.71 and paid
$9.00.
CLOSING DAY -- Bay Meadows wraps up its 2007 summer/fall season with a nine-race program Sunday. Post time is 12:45 p.m. and fans attending the track with a paid admission will have the opportunity to pick up a Bay Meadows promotional item they may have missed from earlier in the meeting, including sweatshirts, baseball caps and beach chairs.
Monday, October 08, 2007
SPORTS TUESDAY — BAY MEADOWS
SPORTS TUESDAY -- BAY MEADOWS
NOTTINGHAM FOREST WINS EXCITING
HOLIDAY FEATURE AT BAY MEADOWS
SAN MATEO -- Nottingham Forest rallied strongly down the center of the course and got up just in time to win a three-horse photo finish in the $34,318 Columbus Day feature at Bay Meadows Monday.
Ridden by Russell Baze, Nottingham Forest took the 7 1/2-furlong turf race for fillies and mares by a head over Apollo Gal, who finished a head in front of Usk Poppy. Nottingham Forest was timed in 1:31.78 and paid $4.00 as the even-money favorite in a field of eight.
The victory was Nottingham Forest's second straight win since being claimed by leading trainer Jerry Hollendorfer for $50,000 on Aug. 27 at Del Mar. A 3-year-old filly by Forestry, Nottingham Forest won a 1 1/8-mile allowance race on the main track at Bay Meadows in her debut for Hollendorfer on Sept. 23.
Owned in partnership by Hollendorfer and George Todaro, Nottingham Forest earned $18,600 Monday and has made $30,600 in her two starts for Hollendorfer and Todaro.
Live racing at Bay Meadows won't resume until Friday night, however, the track will be open for simulcast wagering on Wednesday and Thursday. Bay Meadows will open the Club House at 10 a.m. for the simulcast programs, which will include action from
the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita (post time is 1 p.m.) and the Big Fresno Fair
(1:15 p.m.).
The very popular Bay Area pop/soul group Pride & Joy will perform at Bay Meadows Friday night during the track's "Friday's Alive" racing program, which begins at 7 p.m. and offers fans the following specials: $1 general admission, $1 programs, $1 hot dogs, $1 sodas, $1 beers (from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.), and $2 beers (from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
The race of the week at Bay Meadows is the $60,000 Luck Be A Lady Handicap, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares that will be run Saturday. The classy mare Somethinaboutlaura, a multiple stakes-winner of $913,315, and the exciting filly Victorina, a multiple stakes-winner of $463,033, will head a field of seven in the Luck Be A Lady.
