The only knock on Lava Man is his 0-for-5 record when racing anywhere other than Southern California. “I hate traveling and apparently he does too,” said co-owner Jason Wood after Lava Man won his third straight Hollywood Gold Cup (Blood-Horse), matching the record held by Native Diver, with a gutsy, tough performance in which he was challenged hard by A.P. Xcellent, to whom he conceded nine pounds (quite a bit these days). Final time for the 10-furlong race was 2:03.21, a Hollywood Cushion Track record. Given the current state of the older horse division post-Invasor’s retirement (see: Belmont, Suburban Handicap), Lava Man may well be honored with an Eclipse Award this year on the strength of victories like this one, without having to travel anywhere ever again.
– Trainer Todd Pletcher swept Belmont’s Sunday baby stakes with Glacken’s Gal in the Astoria and Ready’s Image in the Tremont (Blood-Horse). Glacken’s Gal earned an 84 Beyer for her second start; Ready’s Image an excellent 99 Beyer for his 7 3/4 length win.
– In winning the Mother Goose on Saturday, Octave became the sixth filly to come out the Kentucky Oaks and win a stakes next start. The others include Rags to Riches (Belmont Stakes), Dreaming of Anna (Double Delta Stakes), and Cotton Blossom (Acorn Stakes).
– There’s a massive pick six carryover of $3.2 million at Hollywood on Monday (DRF), thanks to longshot Bright Prediction, who paid $172.80 to win today’s sixth. Monday will be the fourth straight day there’s been a pick six carryover; the pool is the largest in the track’s history.
– Interesting: At Churchill’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, CEO Robert Evans revealed the company is analyzing more than 150,000 races run in the past three years, looking for what makes handle jump. “We need better races to compete more effectively for the bettor’s dollar,” said Evans (Courier-Journal).
