Las Vegas, NV -- The top race this weekend at Hollywood Park is the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup on Saturday. A field of seven is expected, headlined by Sanagas and Bourbon Bay. The Hollywood Turf Cup will be the eighth race on a nine-race card.
Sanagas
Graham Motion's Sanagas could go off as the post time favorite on Saturday. It will be the first Grade 1 race for Sanagas, but all indications are that he will be up to the task. The German-bred horse has won two of his four starts in the United States. He will start from the outside and be ridden by Rajiv Maragh. The horse won the John's Call Stakes back in July at Saratoga and also won the Grade 3 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland last month.
"He hasn't done too much wrong," Motion said. "The first few times I ran him, he was quite quirky, but he's gotten over that. He was very erratic. Having been lightly raced in Germany, and then going a different direction here, I think he was a bit confused." The mile and a half distance will not be a problem for Sanagas.
Hollywood Turf Cup betting odds, rebates, live video, replays and results at OTB.
Bourbon Bay and Miss Match
Trainer Neil Drysdale will send Miss Match and Bourbon Bay in the Hollywood Turf Cup on Saturday. Both horses were disappointing last time out as Bourbon Bay finished last in the Northern Dance Stakes at Woodbine in September while Miss Match was last in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. This will be the third time in her career that Miss Match will be facing the boys. She won the Santa Margarita Stakes back in March but has lost her last five starts since that win. Drysdale was very encouraged by a recent work by Miss Match and decided to enter her in this race. Miss Match will get jockey Mike Smith in the irons as the horse attempts to become the first female in almost 20 years to win the Hollywood Turf Cup.
Other Contenders
There are two other stakes winners in the betting field for Saturday. Ashtar won the El Derby in Chile in February while Norvsky won the California Cup Classic last month. The other two horses in the race are Falcon Rock and Goldwaki. Norvsky will be running in his first Grade 1 race and at a longer distance but trainer Don Warren is not concerned.
"With his long stride, we think he can get the distance," Warren said. Norvsky has finished first or second in his last six starts. The bottom line is, this sets up to be a heck of a betting race. A race where you should take advantage of the horse racing rebates at offtrackbetting.com.
2011 Hollywood Turf Cup Entries, Jockeys & Trainers
Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Bourbon Bay |
Garrett Gomez |
Neil Drysdale |
2 |
Norvsky |
Rafael Bejarano |
Don Warren |
3 |
Falcon Rock |
David Flores |
Simon Callaghan |
4 |
Miss Match |
Mike Smith |
Neil Drysdale |
5 |
Goldwaki |
Brice Blanc |
Ron McAnally |
7 |
Ashtar |
Hector Berrios |
Ruben Cardenas |
7 |
Sanagas |
Rajiv Maragh |
Graham Motion |
Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes The Hollywood Turf Cup is an American stakes race for thoroughbred horses at Hollywood Park Racetrack. A Grade I event, it is open to horses, age three and up, and run at a distance of one and one-half miles. The Hollywood Turf Cup offers a purse of $250,000.
Horses who previously ran in the Breeders' Cup Turf often run in the Turf Cup since it is the last major turf race of the year. As with all Hollywood Park turf stakes it was on hiatus in 2005.
John Henry's win in 1983 made him the first racehorse to surpass $4 million in career earnings. 1991 winner Miss Alleged is the only filly to ever win this race.
The race was run in two heats in 1982. It was raced at 1 1/2miles (11 furlongs) in 1982 and 1983.
