Cal Cup

Benoit Photo
$100,000 TVG Cal Cup Distance
TEST THE WATERS

ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 16, 2004) – Favored Test the Waters exploded in mid-stretch to win Saturday’s $100,000 TVG California Cup Distance Handicap for fillies and mares at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.

The lightly raced Test the Waters is by Chequer, out of the Irish River mare Tiltheriverrunsdry, was bred by Jim Vreeland and is owned by Seger & Thomas. This was the 5-year-old mare’s fourth win in nine races, her first stakes win and increased her earnings to $227,478.

Off for two years between April 2002-04, this was her fifth race since returning and she was coming off a second in the Sept. 5 Solana Beach Handicap. She was trained by Jeff Mullins and ridden by Victor Espinoza.

“She was good all the way around,” said Espinoza. “I stuck her right in behind. I just waited for somewhere else to go. And by the three-eighths I was trying to find a hole to get her there. A horse was lugging out a little bit and I got a chance to go to the inside. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes it gets a little tight, but today it was good.”

Sent off at odds of 3-2, she ran the 1 ¼ miles on turf in 2:01.19 and finished two lengths in front of Shalini, who was fifth in this race last year. Tucked Away was third.