Fluke made a dramatic late run under jockey Joe Talamo to score an emotional upset victory for the barn of the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel in Friday's $300,000 Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park in Inglewood.
The Brazilian-bred was saddled by Frankel's long-time assistant Humberto Ascanio, who sent out many stakes horses during a 35-year stint with the legendary horsemen, but not in his own name.
Ascanio, who officially took over Frankel's stable at Hollywood Park following the trainer's death from lymphoma on Nov. 16, was the trainer of record and earned his first stakes win in the Grade I event.
The gathering in the winner's circle was a happy one for Ascanio and his family, including his wife Maureen and 15-month old grandson Jonathan, whom he held in his arms for the winning photo.
It was also a big moment for 19-year-old Talamo, who came to Southern California a couple years back at the behest of Frankel.
"This is very emotional for me," he said. "Bobby's the one who brought me out here. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here." The Citation is the first race in Hollywood Park's Turf Festival, which features five graded stakes over the Thanksgiving Weekend. Frankel dominated the Festival with 17 winners in the first 17 years of the popular late-season event.
"Bobby told me to get him ready," Ascanio said. "To be positive, he is training good. He was right. The horse was doing good. My job was to continue training.
I'm just happy to win for him." Talamo, who rode five winners here last Sunday, was at his best in the Citation, sitting patiently and saving ground much of the way before turning the 4-year-old loose in the final furlong.
Fluke, the sixth choice at odds of 9-1, gained the lead in deep stretch, covering 1 1/16 miles on the Lakeside Turf Course in 1:40.48 to register his first stakes victory in North America. He won a Group 3 event in Brazil in 2008 and has now won five of 11 starts with three second-place finishes.
Ever a Friend finished second, 1 lengths back of Fluke. Second choice Cowboy Cal was another neck back in third and Proudinksy, also trained by Ascanio, finished fourth in the field of eight older horses. Favorite Blue Chagall did not threaten while finishing last.
"He was confident," Ascanio said of Talamo. "He said this horse can win. I like that. It was a tough race, I'm just happy to win it. I knew he had a lot of horse at the head of the stretch, he hadn't asked him. " Talamo, second in the jockeys' standings with 13 wins through 11 days of the 27-day Autumn Meet, liked his chances Friday.
"I watched the replay of his last race and man, he came home in :22," he said.
"I'm not going to say that we knew he was going to win, but we came in with a lot of confidence. He's a real nice horse and I think he's going to go on to do some big things. They weren't really going all that fast, but into the turn I could see some of them were making early moves. In the stretch it was just a matter of finding a seam, and when he found one, he really took off." Fluke, owned by Patricia Bozano, banked $180,000 to boost his earnings to $308,348. He also rewarded his backers handsomely, paying $20, $7.80 and $4.40.
Ever a Friend returned $6 and $3.80, while the show payoff on Cowboy Cal was $3.20.
Ever a Friend led inside the eighth pole, but could not match Fluke in the final sixteenth.
"Coming to the three-eighths, a horse came up on the outside (Blue Chagall) and he made me move a little early," jockey Joel Rosario said. "He ran good. I don't think I would have won, I just wish I could have waited longer."
Ascanio will saddle Ventura in the $300,000 Matriarch as the Turf Festival continues Saturday with the Grade I race for fillies and mares and with the $100,000 Generous Stakes for 2-year-olds. It wraps up Sunday with the $300,000 Hollywood Derby and the $100,000 Miesque Stakes.
Post time each day is 12:30 p.m.
Blame wins this game
Blame drew clear in the stretch and held off Misremembered by a neck to win the $400,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs at Louisville, Ky.
The 3-year-old colt beat the likes of Einstein, among the nation's top older horses, as well as Stephen Foster Handicap winner Macho Again.
With Jamie Theriot aboard, Blame raced behind early leader Anarko and then made his winning more on the final turn of Saturday's 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 race.
The 7-year-old Einstein broke from the outside No. 14 post, encountered traffic issues in midstretch but wound up third. Macho Again finished ninth.
Blame's winning time was 1:49.39 over a fast track. Blame returned $10.80, $6.40, and $2.
Earlier, 56-1 long shot Rahystrada won the River City Handicap and returned $115.80 for a $2 win bet.
Sara Louise wins Top Flight Handicap
Sara Louise, the 3-5 favorite, was fully extended to beat Justwhistledixie by a half length in the $150,000 Top Flight Handicap for fillies and mares at Aqueduct in New York..
A 3-year-old, Sara Louise ran fourth in her previous race, the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita. That effort earned her the role of odds-on favorite for the one-mile Top Flight. Backers expecting an easy time had to sweat out the victory.
Sara Louise, with Edgar Prado up, cruised confidently into contending position with a three-wide surge on the turn. She soon had company as Justwhistledixie also made a bid to her outside.
Turning into the lane, it was a two-horse battle with Sara Louise never yielding despite intense pressure, getting her fourth win in eight starts. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Sara Louise was clocked in 1:38.94 on the fast track, paying $3.40, $2.20 and $2.10. Justwhistledixie returned $3.10 and $2.80. Cuvee Uncorked paid $4.10 to show.
Horses return to Hialeah
For years, the fabled Hialeah Park race track has sat idle ---- battered, broken, and left to rot.
These days, fresh paint coats the walls, pink flamingos are practicing their familiar moves and some of the luster has been restored to Florida's grand old track. On Saturday, those famous flamingos are expected to fly again, when Hialeah reopens for its first race day in nearly a decade.
"No track has a feeling like this," said owner John Brunetti, who expects 10,000 to 15,000 people to walk through the gates for quarter horse racing.
The once-elegant treasure is nestled in a blue-collar neighborhood of mechanic shops and tile depots. Sweeping staircases welcome racegoers to the grandstand, which looks out over the racing oval and the flamingos that have made their home in the middle of the track.
In the glory days, the birds would loop the track on racedays, putting on a show for the women in their Sunday best and men in jackets and ties. Moments spent there seemed special, people spotted there were important. It was swanky, opulent and, at times, a magnificent sight.
"It was like a Hollywood premiere every weekend, every Saturday and Wednesday when we had the big races," said Tommy Roberts, a former television broadcaster and vice president and general manager of the park. "You had all the sports stars, the big political figures ... It was a who's who parade. The best horses in the country. The best jockeys and trainers. It was absolutely the finest that American racing had to offer."
Hialeah, which was built in the 1920s, slipped into disrepair after its last live race in 2001. The park, once visited by Winston Churchill and a host of champions including Citation and Seabiscuit, was beaten by the elements. Vines swallowed its grandstand walls, fountains dried up and dust covered its seats. Grass and hedges grew wild in the racing oval and holes dotted pink and white striped awnings.
With opening day approaching, the paddocks have been repaired, the grass has been tamed and this week, Brunetti says, the lily pads will be pulled from a reflecting pool beneath a statue of 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, which also won Hialeah's Flamingo Stakes.
"It's old and yet it's new," Brunetti said. "There's not a bad seat in the place. It was built like the Rock of Gibraltar. I can't take credit for that, but I'm thankful for it."
So far, about $12 million to $13 million has been spent to restore the park.
Some portions of the park remain closed off to hide the peeling paint, dilapidated structures and mold-spotted walls. Some trees still lean toward the north, the result of a hurricane that ripped through the park years ago. But much of the site has been spiffed up and restored.
"It was something that almost slipped away," Brunetti said of the track. "I believe this time, not only (the South Florida community) but the thoroughbred industry in the state and the country realized that it could go away. I think everyone would be very sorry if it did."
Tropical weather aside, Hialeah also struggled with the thoroughbred racing industry and regulation. The park was previously a destination for thoroughbreds, but the track lost its permit for that type of racing in 2004. It now has a much easier-to-obtain permit for quarter horses, which are bred for sprinting, that will race instead.
"It's like anything in life. It's like serving an apprenticeship," Brunetti said. "I think basically, a great deal of my training or my attitude about life has been taking the necessary steps. I was fortunate enough to go to a military high school and you learn about the chain of command and responsibilities until you're promoted. And I think everything in life is the same way. This is a new life, and we're starting from the bottom."
Those familiar with the park's storied history are welcoming racing's return, no matter what form.
"I think it's better to see a piece of property used rather than sit there and fall apart," said Joe Aulisi, of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. "At least it's a step toward perhaps restoring thoroughbred racing."
Parts of the project are still not finished, and a complete redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the park is also in the works. In total, Brunetti says he plans to spend a little under $1 billion on the total plan, which includes retail stores and a theater.
"It's going to be a living experience," Brunetti said. "People will see it developed, people will enjoy it, it'll be year-round activity. The combination of thoroughbred and quarter horse racing, the hotel that we're going to be build, and the bowling alleys and the theaters and the convention center and everything else. It's going to be a real destination."
