Cal-bred News

Lewis Gunning for Cal Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2005) -- Carano and Cheroot, two 4-year-olds who will be making their stakes debuts, could have a lot to say about the outcome of the 16th California Cup Classic.

The $250,000, 1 1/8-mile Classic, presented by Smith Barney, will be the richest of the 10 races for state-breds -- three featuring older male runners--to be run Sunday, closing day of the fall Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita. More than 100 runners will be vying for $1,325,000 in purses in the 10 races.

Carano, who didn’t begin his racing career until this year, is stepping up into stakes company after winning two of his first five starts for trainer Craig Lewis.

“He seems to be getting better with each race,” Lewis said of the gelded son of In Excess (IRE)- Gilded Dancer, by Mr. Prospector.

Lewis also trains Carano’s full sister, 5-year-old millionaire Valentine Dancer, who will run in one of the three Cal Cup events for fillies and mares. Both Carano and Valentine Dancer were bred and are owned by Al and Sandee Kirkwood.

Darrell Vienna trains Cheroot for owner-breeder Charlotte Wrather. The son of Smokester, out of the Far North mare Triple Connection, didn’t break his maiden until his sixth start--at Hollywood Park in June--but has since racked up two more victories on turf at Del Mar, leading Vienna to consider the possibility of entering the colt in the $175,000 Cal Cup Mile instead of the Classic.

In the Mile, he could be encountering two other up-and-coming grass runners in Charbonnier and Orbits World.

Bred and owned by the Walter Family Trust, Charbonnier is a 4-year-old gelding by Robannier, out of the Cost Conscious mare Charmalotta. Trained by Eoin Harty, he has won twice in 13 lifetime starts, both victories coming on grass. In his stakes debut, the colt ran second at Santa Rosa in August.

Orbits World will seek to become the second member of his family to win the Cal Cup Mile. He is the 3-year-old full brother to Lennnyfromalibu, who won the event in 2003. Bred and owned by Madeline Auerbach, both are by Unusual Heat-Style of the Year, by Half a Year and both are trained by Barry Abrams. Orbits World has won twice, both times on grass.

Bilo, who has made nine starts, and Bordonaro, who has made six, are lightly raced, considering the geldings are, respectively, five and four years old.

All six of Bordonaro’s races have come this year. But both he and Bilo have won four times each to emerge as contenders in the $150,000 Donald Valpredo Cal Cup Sprint.

Bilo, bred and owned by Ed Nahem, is by 1993 Pacific Classic champion Bertrando, out of the Devil’s Bag mare Raffle’s Bag. He is trained by Marty Jones.

Bordonaro, trained by Bill Spawr, was bred and is owned by Fred Carrillo and David Cassella. He is a son of Memo (CHI)-Miss Excitement, by Rajab.
--Larry Bortstein