Shipping for Gold

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (April 23, 2001) - It says something for the attractiveness of Gold Rush Day at Hollywood Park that one horse expected to run Saturday is shipping cross-country for the race and will ship back cross-country afterward.

That would be My Two Sons, whose connections are taking aim at the $250,000 Snow Chief Stakes at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds, the richest race on the card.

My Two Sons is by Sunny's Halo out of the Verbatim mare Edgewater. He was bred by Californian Jay Bligh, who owns the colt in partnership with Hank Weeks.
My Two Sons is based in New York, along with a band of a dozen horses owned by Bligh and trained by Steve Young. Bligh convinced Young to relocate from southern California to New York when he decided the climate for racing in California was not favorable enough to the California owner and breeder.
"I love racing in California and I miss it," said Bligh. "I brought mares to California. My plan was to support the Sales, to support the program. I tried it, and the results were good and bad.

"My hope is that there will be an improvement in the laws, an improvement in the politics and an improvement in the facilities. I'm a believer in California-bred horses. They can run anywhere. And Gold Rush Day will be a great day for California racing."

Blight sent My Two Sons to the Del Mar Sales in 1999, but bought him back for $25,000. He has run eight times in New York and never finished worse than third.

He ran four races as a 2-year-old, finishing second three times and third once. One of those seconds was to Invisible Ink, a possible entrant in the Kentucky Derby.

My Two Sons broke his maiden in his first race this year at 1 1/16 miles. In his most recent start, a Mar. 17 first-condition allowance race, My Two Sons posted a 1½-length victory at a mile. He has career earnings of $89,750.

Gold Rush II Nominees