NEWS
Determined Lava Man fends off Ace Blue to repeat in Gold Cup
Posted: Saturday, July 08, 2006
Defending winner Lava Man dug in gamely in the final strides Saturday to fend off a determined rally from runner-up Ace Blue (Brz) and win the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G1) by a nose at Hollywood Park.
The victory was the fifth straight for the versatile five-year-old Slew City Slew gelding, trained by Doug O'Neill for owners STD Racing Stable and Jason Wood. Lava Man, sent off as the 3-to-5 favorite in a five-horse field, entered the Hollywood Gold Cup off a two-length win in the Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap (G1) on June 10 on the Hollywood turf.
Lava Man stumbled badly out of the gate, but quickly recovered to stalk pacesetter Magnum (Arg) through moderate quarters. Ace Blue (Brz) confronted the leader on the backstretch of the 1 1/4-mile race but was repelled as Magnum regained a clear lead.
"That was scary," O'Neill said of Lava Man's stumble at the gate. "It looked like it was going to shape up to where we were going to get stuck inside."
Jockey Corey Nakatani urged Lava Man forward to challenge Magnum on the final turn and jockey Patrick Valenzuela roused his charge as the dueling duo swung into the lane.
Lava Man edged to the lead on the outside but Magnum refused to relent and battled back on the inside as the two rivals were joined by resilient Ace Blue in the center of the stretch. Magnum gradually began to fade but Ace Blue charged ahead to push a nose in front of Lava Man, who battled back to nip his rival in the final jump.
Lava Man completed the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.16 over a fast track.
"This horse has the heart of a champ, no doubt," Nakatani said. "He's shown that he's versatile, he does whatever you ask him to do. Turf, dirt...what more can you ask of him?"
Even in the face of a photo finish, Nakatani said he never doubted Lava Man's supremacy in the Gold Cup.
"I felt that I was still in front of [Ace Blue] at the wire," Nakatani said. "I knew [Ace Blue] was coming, but Lava Man just put his head down and he prevailed. He kept digging for a little more, a little bit more."
"Corey did such a good job of not rushing him and letting him get his feet under him and finding that perfect position down the backstretch," O'Neill said. "It changed the race a lot. They went in :48 and change [for a half-mile]. If he doesn't stumble, he's doing that easy. Him having to regain his composure, get position, and then close in on a crawling pace—he's just a tremendous horse and a tremendous ride."
Ace Blue was three-quarters of a length in front of third-place finisher Super Frolic, who closed willingly to edge Magnum by a half-length.
Lava Man opened his season with a 2 1/4-length victory in the Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes at Santa Anita Park. He followed with a three-quarter-length score in the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap (G1) on March 4 before O'Neill shifted his charge to grass for a resounding 5 1/4-length romp in the TVG Khaled Stakes on April 30.
Lava Man, who has asserted his presence in the handicap division with the gutsy Gold Cup win, improved to 12 wins from 32 career starts with earnings of $2,904,706.
Bred in Kentucky by Lonnie Arterburn, Eve Kuhlman, and Kim Kuhlman, Lava Man is out of the Nostalgia's Star mare Li'l Ms. Leonard.—M.C.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbPDFChartIndex.cfm?TID=HOL&CTRY=USA&DAY=D&DT=07/08/2006&STYLE=EQB
