Amazingly, Classic Is in the Bag

California Cup X provided an event some people didn’t expect to see before the end of the century.

Bagshot, who had not crossed the wire first since he broke his maiden in his second career start at Hollywood Park on July 6, 1996, beat the weakest field in the history of the $250,000 Cal Cup Classic, capping a double for owners Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan and trainer Paco Gonzalez. Three races before the Classic, they had won the $125,000 Juvenile with 5-1 shot Spacelink.

Ridden for the first time by Chris Antley, Bagshot, who had made a nice living running second and third in recent years, including seconds in last year’s Cal Cup Classic and Santa Anita Handicap, beat favored Del Mar Gray by 1 1/2 lengths as the 4-1 fourth choice in 1:48 3/5 for the 1 1/8 miles.

“I know it has been a while since he last won a race, but I’d never been on him before so I can’t compare,” Antley said. “I didn’t do anything special. [Gonzalez] told me to ride him aggressively and that’s what I did. I know they put blinkers on him today [for the first time since Oct. 3, 1998]. But whatever it was, it worked.”

Losing for the 10th consecutive time on the main track, Del Mar Gray finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of Smoky Cinder, then came Splendid Splinter, Warm April and pacesetter Lesters Boy.

“He ran really well and had no excuse,” said Alex Solis, the rider of the 3-2 favorite. “[Bagshot] just ran better. As far as I’m concerned, he picked the wrong time to win today.”

Gonzalez wasn’t the only trainer who had a pair of winners. Juan Garcia took the $150,000 Distaff with 9-1 shot Chichim, a 4-year-old filly who could have been claimed for $20,000 earlier this year, then won the $175,000 Mile with 19-10 favorite Native Desert.

Claimed for $32,000 by Garcia for owner Miguel Rubio in 1996, Native Desert, a 6-year-old gelded son of Desert Classic, pushed his earnings past $918,000 with his 3 1/2-length win over 14-1 shot Macward.

Native Desert’s 16th career victory was the third of the afternoon for jockey Garrett Gomez.

Earlier, the rider, who has won with four of his nine mounts in the Cal Cup, scored with Chichim and 2-1 favorite Love That Red, who took advantage of a hot early pace in the $150,000 Sprint.

While odds-on favorite Stormy Jack had to settle for third in the Juvenile, 1-2 choice Cover Gal remained unbeaten in the $125,000 Juvenile Fillies, beating 15-1 shot Starring Me by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:45 1/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Trained by Lance Stokes for owner Bill Peeples and ridden by Gary Stevens, the daughter of Falstaff is now perfect in four starts.

Besides Gomez, Eddie Delahoussaye was the only other rider with multiple victories. He easily captured the $50,000 Starter Handicap with favored J.R. Holmes, then directed Feverish to a mild 4-1 upset in the $150,000 Matron.

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Marty Wygod and trained by Dan Hendricks, Feverish won for the fourth time in a row, re-rallying to beat Supercilious by a neck in 1:43 for the 1 1/16 miles. Cookin Vickie, the 5-2 favorite who had come within a neck of Manistique in the Lady’s Secret Breeders’ Cup Handicap three weeks earlier, was fourth as the 5-2 favorite.

“She doesn’t owe us a thing,” Hendricks said. “She’s tripled her value in two months and made her family worth a whole lot more.”

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Rick Baedeker, who previously had worked at Hollywood Park as vice president of marketing and public relations, has been named president of the track.

The hiring of Baedeker was announced by John Long, the vice president and chief operating officer of Churchill Downs Inc., which purchased Hollywood Park earlier this year.

Most recently, Baedeker had served as vice president of the Television Games Network, a cable/satellite network that covers horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering. He also had been the senior vice president for the National Thoroughbred Racing Assn. and as general manager of The Woodlands race track in Kansas.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Patrick Valenzuela won his first California Cup race since 1991 when Irrelevant took the first race of the day, the $50,000 Starter Sprint Handicap. . . . The other winner on the Cal Cup card was Lazy Slusan, who took the $50,000 Distaff Starter Handicap under jockey Iggy Puglisi. . . . Fire Sale Queen unseated jockey Martin Pedroza at the start of the Juvenile Fillies. Horse and jockey escaped serious injury after she went over the outer rail nearing the 1 1/4-mile chute. . . . Isaypete, a 17-1 shot, rallied from dead last to win the $200,000 Calder Derby at Calder. Jose Ferrer rode the winner for local owners Carolyn Chapman and Theresa McArthur and trainer Jim Chapman.