Runaway Dancer Wins Sunset Handicap On Fourth Attempt; Solis Wins Closing-Day Feature For Third Straight Year
Runaway Dancer and jockey Alex Solis.
The 8-year-old RL Stables' color bearer made his fourth consecutive start in the Sunset a winning one. Solis rode his third consecutive Sunset winner.
Benoit Photo
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (July 15, 2007) - Third choice Runaway Dancer, an 8-year-old who was making his fourth consecutive start in the race, closed from last under jockey Alex Solis to win the $150,400 Sunset Handicap as Hollywood Park's 63-day Spring/Summer Meet came to a close Sunday.
Runaway Dancer, a popular gray/roan who won the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap here in 2005 and the Carleton F. Burke Handicap at Santa Anita in 2003, covered 1 ½ miles on the Lakeside Turf Course in 2:27.68 under 117 pounds while paying $8.40.
Fitz Flag finished 2 ¼ lengths back in second under Goncalino Almeida, while Spring House was another three-quarters of a length behind in third with Jose Valdivia Jr. up. Rush Rush finished fourth in the field of six, followed by 119-pound high weight and favorite Stormin Away and Bright Prediction.
Runaway Dancer won for the first time in five 2007 starts and the eighth time in 39 lifetime starts, banking $96,240 to boost his earnings to $788,284.
"This race set up really well for our horse," trainer Dan Hendricks said. "I thought that Bright Prediction would go out fast and I didn't think Stormin Away would get the lead from this horse. I thought that would help us this time along with backing him up to a mile and one-half. He always seems to fire every race but even in his bad races there are circumstances that change the outcome. He's not a great horse that can overcome a lot of adversity but when things set up right he can put up some fantastic finishes. We're probably going to go to the Del Mar Handicap with the slightest possibility of the Pacific Classic. I'm anxious to see how he trains on the Polytrack down there."
Solis, who blamed himself when Runaway Dancer finished third behind Stormin Away one start earlier in the Round Table Handicap, made no mistakes Sunday while riding his third consecutive Sunset winner.
"That horse (Bright Prediction) running off was good for all of us, actually," he said of the pacesetter. "It was a decent pace and I was very happy where my horse was. I just wanted to make sure he didn't lose touch with the field. This time I stayed close to them and when I asked him at the quarter pole he did his stuff. As soon as I caught up with the field, he got real game. Luckily I found a little seam in the stretch to go through."
In the co-feature, Scottsbluff set a stakes record of 1:07.54 for six furlongs on turf while defeating fellow California-bred Bonfante by a nose under jockey Clinton Potts in the $94,000 Robert K. Kerlan Memorial Handicap.
"This horse lost his footing a little bit, lost his momentum but then took off running again," Potts said. "They've got him back on his game now. They gave him that long layoff and brought him back and he ran a great big monstrous race going a mile. It took him a race or two to get back together and now he's all the way back."
The wjn was one of two on the day for trainer Jeff Mullins, who rallied to tie Doug O'Neill atop the trainers' standings with 26 wins at the 63-day Spring/Summer Meet.
"I think One Union breaking bad out of the gate effected the pace," Mullins said. "Anytime you draw the rail and have speed you pretty much have to commit and go. When that horse got left it gave us an opportunity to let our horse settle a little bit without worrying too much. With him out Mike Mitchell's horse set the pace and gave us a target to go after."
The previous Kerlan record of 1:08 was set by Olympic Prospect in 1988 and matched by Sam Who in 1989.
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