NEWS
Surf Cat easy winner in Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup
Posted: Sunday, April 02, 2006
Running up to the lofty expectations that come with being an overwhelming favorite, Surf Cat denied jockey Felipe Martinez a farewell victory by rallying to earn a 2 ¼-length victory in the $128,000 Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2) on Sunday at Santa Anita Park.
Surf Cat gave jockey Alex Solis the easiest of wins in the 6 1/2-furlong race by powering past three rivals in the stretch to score his second straight Grade 2 victory. Chasing the pace in fourth, Surf Cat overcame a deficit of more than six lengths with an authoritative four-wide rally en route to finishing first in 1:15 on a fast track.
"I just had to hold on,'' Solis said. "He's just a good horse. He'll do some great things. God willing, he stays healthy.''
Surf Cat—the 1-to-5 favorite in a compact field of five older horses—raced in fourth until the stretch, where the son of Sir Cat took command and gave trainer Bruce Headley his sixth win in the Potrero Grande.
"He got the luck of the draw and he got the luck of the break,'' Headley said. "He was lucky all the way.''
Talent also played a key role as Surf Cat to overcame a deficit of more than 1 1/2 lengths in early stretch against Grinding It Out, the runner-up who finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Oceanus (Brz).
Solis and Surf Cat moved up in the turn after chasing swift early fractions of :21.69 and :44.25, then exploded past rivals in the stretch.
"He likes to stalk,'' Headley said. "Alex knows him very well and we weren't concerned.''
Martinez finished fourth aboard Areyoutalkintome. The 41-year-old jockey announced earlier in the week that he was retiring on Sunday.
Aase Headley and Marsha Naify's Surf Cat opened his four-year-old campaign with a win in the San Carlos Handicap (G2) on February 18. The colt earned his first stakes win in the 2005 Swaps Breeders' Cup Stakes (G2).
With his sixth win in ten career starts, Surf Cat boosted his bankroll to $472,420. Bred in Kentucky, Surf Cat is a half brother to Grade 3 winner Rosie O'Greta, who is one of seven winners from as many starters out of the winning Centrust mare Trust Greta.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
