Cal Cup

Green Team Seeks Sprint Repeat

ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2004) -- Angelo Ferro loves speed. A race car owner for 25 years, he started a car in the front row of the 1998 Indianapolis 500. And Ferro loves to win. Little wonder then, that his 5-year-old gelding Green Team is the apple of his eye these days.

Green Team won last year’s $150,000 California Cup Sprint by two lengths at Santa Anita Park, earning $90,000 for Ferro. Trainer Jeff Bonde plans to send him south from his Bay Meadows training base to try it once again in California Cup XV on Oct. 16.

Cal Cup will be held at the Oak Tree Racing Association meet at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. The day features 10 races for all divisions of California-breds with purses totaling $1.325 million. In addition to on-track, wagering on Cal Cup will be available at more than 30 simulcast locations throughout the state.

Cal Cup also will be televised by Television Games Network (TVG), which is carried on Dish and DirecTV satellite systems, as well as major cable providers.

The rich purses historically result in full fields and competitive betting races. Among the exotic wagers available are a $1 million guaranteed Pick 6 and a $500,000 guaranteed Pick 4. Those attending on track will also receive a promotional Cal Cup blanket.

Green Team tuned up for Cal Cup by running one of the fastest times of the year for six furlongs, 1:07.41, in winning the $100,000 California Sprint Championship Handicap at Bay Meadows on Sept. 11.

"He’s a wonderful horse," said Ferro, a resident of San Rafael who runs an importing business, a car dealership and a ranch. "He’s built just right for a sprinter. He’s always alert but he’s not a nervous sort. He’s always pretty relaxed. And he stays healthy. That’s the trick of being successful. Not many horses can do it."

The Cal Cup Sprint is one of 10 races carded for California-bred horses Oct. 16 with total purses exceeding $1.3 million. The California Cup is always one of the most popular days on the Southern California calendar, combining a $1 million guaranteed Pick Six and a $500,000 guaranteed Pick Four with great racing and a long history of upsets. More than 100,000 fans are expected to view the event either live from Santa Anita or at one of 33 satellite wagering facilities in the state.

Harris Farms in Coalinga bred Green Team, a bay son of Huddle Up who has won nine of 36 career starts with earnings of $566,477. He was running in mid-level claiming and allowance events for owner John Harris and trainer Dennis Hopkins when Bonde scooped him out of a $32,000 claimer at the Solano County Fair in July, 2003.

Moved up the class ladder while winning both of his next two starts, he ran in the 2003 California Sprint Championship, missing by a neck while finishing second. Since then, he has competed in nine consecutive stakes races -- finishing first or second in six of them -- and seems pointed for a strong effort on Cal Cup day.

"At this point, he’s doing very well, very well," said Bonde. "He’s an extremely honest horse. He usually comes up with a good effort. We’ve had a lot of fun with him. We got to go to Florida with him."

Green Team ran second in the Sunshine Millions Sprint -- a competition between California- and Florida-bred Thoroughbreds -- at Gulfstream Park in January.

His winning effort in the California Sprint Championship, accomplished in a time that was just one-fifth off the Bay Meadows track mark, was all the more impressive because he was forced into the unfamiliar role of pacesetter. Jockey Russell Baze pushed him to the front when the likely frontrunner broke poorly. Not pressured through solid fractions of 22 1/5 seconds for the opening quarter mile and 44 2/5 for the half, Green Team had just enough left to hold off Areyoutalkintome by a neck.

"I just gave him his head and he was doing it nice and relaxed," said Baze, "I knew entering the stretch they'd have to do some running to catch him because I had horse left."
Ferro, who left horseracing around 1980 to concentrate on his businesses and car racing, joined up with Bonde about 3 1/2 years ago, he said. He has seven horses, five currently in training.

His favorite accomplishment in auto racing was having a front-row starter in the 1998 Indy 500. His driver, Greg Ray, took the No. 2 position after qualifying at better than 221 MPH. Ray led for 18 laps during the race but was forced out after 167 laps with a broken gearbox. He finished 18th.

Now, Ferro is focused on a different kind of horsepower with Green Team.

"I love horses," he said.

-- Larry Bortstein