Cal Cup

Saturday, Oct. 28th Oak Tree at Santa Anita.

Cal-bred Stars Take Saturday Stage

ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 26, 2006) -- Last year’s Classic champion is back in another race and is joined by two other 2005 winners and the remarkable filly Cambiocorsa when the 17th California Cup takes center stage at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Presented by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association and the Oak Tree Racing Association, the Cal Cup, offering purse money of $1,325,000 in 10 stakes races for state-breds, has drawn 85 entrants.

First post is noon for an 11-race card, which opens with a 6 ½-furlong turf race for Cal-bred maidens.

The $250,000 California Cup Classic, presented by Smith Barney, to be run as the ninth race, is, as always, the richest event on the program.

McCann’s Mojave (Memo-Joni U Bar) won the 1 1/8-mile Classic last year, but will contest the $175,000 John C. Mabee California Cup Mile Handicap on turf this year.

The Classic has attracted a field of nine, led by 4-year-old geldings Top This and That (Old Topper-Emmy Ann), the 5-2 morning line favorite, and Texcess (In Excess-Danish Alamode), the 3-1 second choice.

Top This and That was second in the Cal Cup Starter Handicap a year ago and Texcess ran fourth in the Cal Cup Classic. Third was Cheroot (Smokester-Triple Connection), who is back at age 5 in this year’s field

A victory in the Cal Cup Mile by McCann’s Mojave would make the 6-year-old the second horse to win two different Cal Cup races. Megan’s Interco won the Mile in 1993 and 1995 and captured the Classic as a 7-year-old in 1996.

The Mile drew a field of 12, headed by the 6-year-old gelding Unfurl the Flag (Bertrando-Escape the Storm) a Grade I winner on dirt—in last year’s Triple Bend Handicap at Hollywood Park--but more recently a turf specialist.

Drake’s Victory (Victory Gallop-Atocha Queen), last year’s Cal Cup Mile winner, is one of four returnees from the 2005 field. That group also includes Running Free (Soft Gold-Baby Grand), a 5-year-old gelding who was third last year, and stakes-winners El Don and Super Strut.

The eight-horse lineup for the $150,000 John Deere California Cup Distaff Handicap at 6 ½ furlongs on grass, is headed by Cambiocorsa (Avenue of Flags-Ultrafleet) who is seeking her ninth consecutive victory down Santa Anita’s unique hillside turf course.

The 4-year-old gray filly, last seen winning the Grade III Sen. Ken Maddy Handicap on Sept. 27, opening day of the Oak Tree meet, is opposed by Leave Me Alone (Bold Badgett-Fabulous Ballet), who won the Grade I Test Stakes at Saratoga last year but is trying turf for only the second time; Allswellthatnswell (Perfect Mandate-A Lucky Happening), who won the E.B. Johnston Stakes at Fairplex Park; Vikki’s Honor (Bartok-Bigger Prize), winner of Del Mar’s CERF Handicap, and Turf Paradise stakes-winner Kresgeville.

Somethinaboutlaura (Dance Floor-Crystals of Ice), a 4-year-old filly who won Hollywood Park’s Grade II A Gleam Handicap on July 1, heads the field of seven fillies and mares In the $150,000 TOC/CTT California Cup Matron Handicap.

Making her first start against older fillies in the 1 1/16-mile Matron is 3-year-old Mimi Guarneri (In Excess-She’s So Fabulous), who broke her maiden in winning the CTBA Marian Stakes at Fairplex Park on Sept. 16.

Moscow Burning will seek to add to her record earnings for a Cal-bred female runner when she goes to the post for the final time in the $100,000 TVG California Cup Distance Handicap at 1 ¼ miles on turf, a race she won last year.

The 6-year-old Moscow Ballet-Burning Desire mare, who will be sold at Keeneland next month, has earned $1,411,800 with 11 victories in her 32 career starts. She is a two-time Cal Cup Distance champion, having also won the race in 2003.

Among her five rivals Saturday are Fortunate Event (Event of the Year-Fortunee), who was third in the Distance last year.

Areyoutalkintome (Smokester-Andrea Gail), who won the event in 2004 and ran second last year, will try to become the first two-time winner of the $150,000 Dodge/Donald Valpredo California Cup Sprint Handicap when he takes on seven foes Saturday.

The talent-laden field also includes 3-year-old Da Stoops (Distorted Humor-Glamourous Lady), who already has won the Sunshine Millions Dash and Snow Chief Stakes this year; 3-year-old Bro Lo (In Excess-Far Bettor Miss), who beat Da Stoops in Del Mar’s I’m Smokin Stakes in 2005, and 7-year-old Debonair Joe (Ole’-Malita), who as a 3-year-old won the Grade I Malibu Stakes on opening day of the 2002-2003 winter meet at Santa Anita.

Both Cal Cup races for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles lured 10 entrants.

The field for the $125,000 Bob Benoit California Cup Juvenile Stakes is headed by Spot the Diplomat (Worldly Manner-Scare Tactics), who won the Graduation and I’m Smokin Stakes at Del Mar and placed third in the Grade II Norfolk Stakes at Oak Tree. Also in the Juvenile lineup is Super Image (High Brite-To B. Super), a stakes-winner during the fair meet at Santa Rosa.

Among the young distaffers in the Robert H. Walter California Cup Juvenile Fillies are Prenuptial (Broken Vow-Global Finance), winner of Del Mar’s Generous Portion Stakes, and Kiss the Cooke (Kessem Power-Zealed With a Kiss), runner-up in Oak Tree’s Cover Gal Stakes,

The $50,000 California Starter Sprint Handicap at six furlongs on dirt and the $50,000 California Cup Starter Handicap at 1 ½ miles on turf, both for 3-year-olds and up, complete the Cal Cup schedule.

Mom Is Ready (Ready to Order-Scorpio Marjorie), a 4-year-old gelding who enters the former race off an Oak Tree allowance victory, is one of seven Starter Sprint entrants.

Eight turf runners will line up for the Starter Handicap, including Dadsalittleunusual (Unusual Heat-Dadsliitlemaria) and Glimmering Pete (Larry the Legend-Glimmering), 3-year-old geldings who ran 1-2 in turf allowance company at Oak Tree.

—Larry Bortstein