Holladay Road Wins; Pick 6 Carryover at SA
Claimed for $25,000 on July 31, Gary & Wendy Broad’s Holladay
Road rallied from eighth and last Thursday for a one-length victory over
troubled Obsess in Santa Anita’s $49,050 Road to Slew Purse at 6 ½
furlongs.
The 19-10 favorite in a race moved off Santa Anita’s dampened
turf course to the main track following rain on Wednesday, the
6-year-old gelding covered the distance in 1:15.19 with Garrett Gomez in
the saddle.
Trainer Julio Canani, who dropped a claim slip for the
California-bred son of Street Cry at Del Mar even though he had been on
the shelf for almost 14 months, is delighted with his recent
acquisition.
“This horse is really good right now,” said Canani. “I nominated
him to the Cal Cup Classic (Oct. 29) at a mile and one eighth on grass.
If we run there, I’ll train him up to it. I’ll play it by ear.”
Even though Holladay Road was one of two favorites to win on the
day’s card, a 65-1 shot in the previous race generated a Pick Six
carryover of $42,528 into Friday’s program. Warrens Temptation paid
$138.20 in taking the maiden claiming event following losses in his
first 33 starts.
While Holladay Road was taken back to last by Gomez in the Road
to Slew Purse, runner-up Obsess nearly lost jockey Mike Smith at the
start when stumbling so badly his nose hit the ground. “We were
fortunate nobody got hurt,” Smith said, “and, after all that, he only
got beat by a length.” Obsess finished three-quarters-of-a-length ahead
of third-place Sammy’s a Runnin.’
The winner paid $5.80, $3.40 and $3.40. Obsess returned $5.60
and $5. The show price on Sammy’s a Runnin’, ridden by Alonso Quinonez,
was $4.20.
Thursday’s victory was the fourth in 10 starts for Holladay
Road. The winning purse of $28,800 lifted his career earnings to
$113,380.
Holladay Road had won two in a row when he went to the sidelines
in May of last year. He extended the streak to three straight victories
when Canani claimed him. In his lone previous start for his new
connections on Aug. 27 at Del Mar, Holladay Road finished a troubled
fourth, one length behind Mega Heat in an allowance event at one mile.
Friday’s card gets underway at 1 p.m. Each of the eight races includes a field of at least 10 entrants. The Pick Six sequence begins with the third race.