Awesome Gem edges Rail Trip to win Hollywood Gold Cup

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07/10/2010 - Inglewood, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Awesome Gem, ridden by David Flores, found room along the rail and was able to hold off defending champ Rail Trip to capture Saturday's $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park.

The seven-year-old chestnut gelding was sent off as the 8-1 fourth choice in the six-horse field. Rail Trip was the 2-5 favorite, and 2009 Pacific Classic winner Richard's Kid was the 4-1 second pick.

Awesome Gem, trained by Craig Dollase, was never far off the pace that was being set by Compari in the 1 1/4-mile race. Rail Trip and jockey Rafael Bejarano found themselves on the outside in fourth as the field went up the backstretch.

Around the final turn, Rail Trip began his rally three wide with Awesome Gem sitting right behind Compari as the field entered the stretch. Rail Trip took the lead at the top of the stretch as Awesome Gem edged past Compari along the inside.

Awesome Gem and Rail Trip battled down the stretch to the finish. Awesome Gem posted a neck victory over the defending champ to record his first victory of the year. Richard's Kid finished third followed by Tres Borrachos, Compari and Cigar Man.

The time for the Gold Cup was 2:03.31 on Hollywood's sythetic track.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Awesome Gem went past the $2 million mark in career earnings. The Gold Cup win was worth $300,000 to bring the gelding's lifetime bankroll to $2,274,682. He has won seven of 36 career starts.

Awesome Gem had not won a race before Saturday since last October's Hawthorne Gold Cup at Hawthorne Race Course.

The victory is the third Gold Cup win for Flores. He won the race in 1991 with Marquetry and five years later aboard Siphon.

Awesome Gem returned $18.00, $4.40 and $2.40. Rail Trip paid $2.20 and $2.10, and Richard's Kid paid $2.20 to show.

Earlier in the day on the East Coast, a pair of top thoroughbreds came from off the pace to capture stakes races.

Leading three-year-old filly Blind Luck won a photo finish at Delaware Park to win the $250,000 Delaware Oaks. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Blind Luck covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:43.34 on a sloppy track.

The winner of this year's Kentucky Oaks came from well off the pace to edge Havre de Grace at the wire. Derwin's Star finished third in the seven horse field followed by No Such Word, Worship the Moon, Calypso Queen and Listen In.

Trained by co-owner Jerry Hollendorfer, Blind Luck notched her eighth career victory in 12 starts. The Oaks win was worth $150,000 to bring her lifetime earnings to $1,538,712.

"She got away a little slow and sometimes she does that," said Hollendorfer. "I honestly was hoping she would have been a little closer. You know the good ones just find a way to get there. I mean she has been beaten before, but she is a very good filly and she just finds a way there. We are very grateful and very thankful. Joel (Rosario) is a very strong rider and he is one of the strongest finishers in the country. We are still looking at the Alabama (at Saratoga on August 21) for her next start."

Blind Luck paid $2.40, $2.20 and $2.10. Havre de Grace returned $3.60 and $2.80, and Derwin's Star paid $4.60 to show.

At Belmont Park, Gio Ponti successfully defended his crown in the $600,000 Man o'War for his first victory of the year. Approaching the furlong pole, Gio Ponti and rider Ramon Dominguez were four-lengths off the lead in the grass race. He came charging down the stretch to catch Mission Approved and win by a neck.

Rounding out the order of finish was 6-1 second choice Expansion followed by Bearpath, Midnite Silver, Interpatation, Grand Couturier and Strike a Deal.

The time for the 1 3/8-miles was 2:16.20 on a firm turf course.

Gio Ponti returned $2.80, $2.30 and $2.10. Mission Approved paid $17.80 and $7.40, and Expansion paid $2.80 to show.

The five-year-old, trained by Clement Christophe, was voted 2009 champion male turf horse as well as champion older thoroughbred male. He began 2010 with a third-place result in the Tampa Bay Stakes. In March he was third in the Dubai World Cup and last month was second in the Manhattan at Belmont Park.

"As a trainer, you get very excited when you train a horse as good as he is and you go into Grade 1 races, because he just trains so well and you know he's so good," said Clement. "So for me, and for my crew at the barn, it's very exciting to run that kind of horse. We are lucky to be involved with that kind of horse."

In his career Gio Ponti has won half of his 20 starts for $4.1 million. His next start will be in defense of his title in the Arlington Million on August 21.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.

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