Contact: Ron Uchman (708) 780-3670

“Cup” Gold for Awesome Gem

Awesome Gem, the 3-1 second choice, scored a length and a quarter victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup. Under a confident ride by veteran reinsman David Flores, Awesome Gem saved ground in the early going, angled out when they turned for home, and rallied under steady pressure.

David Flores was ecstatic. “I thought that if we were sitting four or five lengths off the lead we would be in a good spot. The horse is doing so good right now. I worked him last week. He’s racing like he never did before. I was confident. We were in good position after the first turn. I was pretty much looking for the right spot and he was taking me there pretty easily. At the top of the stretch I tapped him left handed and he just went on really nice.

“He ran a great race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the only other time he ran on an off track. He came running late in that race, the same way he did today. But, he can handle any track”

Jon Court, rider of runner-up Nite Light: "He ran an honest, strong race. I had horse at the end, but he just didn't have the turn of foot. He's more of a steady grinder. He's just a big horse, it takes him awhile to get his footing, but when he does he just stays with it. He's got a lot of stamina. He's tenacious. He fought to the end and when David (Flores, on Awesome Gem) went by me, I thought, 'he's got the horse with the kick at the end.' My horse was still running. I was hoping to put a little lead on him turning for home, make him more of a challenge to run down. I held off the rest of the field, but the one quick closer managed to get by me."

Assistant trainer, Michael McCarthy added, “It was a good performance under less than ideal conditions.

Luis Quinonez, who rode third-place finisher Going Ballistic “I just rode the horse the same as I did the last time. He was last most of the way and he started moving good but we just ran out of track

Jesus Castanon rode beaten favorite You and I Forever “He gave a good effort and I don’t have any complaints. Coming up to the quarter pole, I was right next to the winner, but the last sixteenth of the mile, he just spit it out on me. He gave me a nice kick but it wasn’t enough.”

Pacesetter Shadowbdancing’s rider Randy Meier : “Around the first turn he was having a little trouble so I moved him off the rail to the first tractor path. I thought the rail would be a good spot to be but he was kind of (bobbling) a little so I moved him out a bit. Up the backside, he felt a little better but on the (second) turn he wasn’t handling it as well as I thought he would. He gave a good run. He’s campaigned hard and he’s been good to us.”

Awesome Gem’s share of the $500,000 Guaranteed purse, $282,000, boosted his career earnings to $1,695,682.

They went the mile and a quarter, on a track rated sloppy, in 2:04.36 with fractions of :24.17, :48:60, 1:13.04, and 1:38.30.

Abby’s Angel Gets Heavenly Trip

Even-money favorite Abby’s Angel, from the barn of Michael Stidham, bobbled a bit at the start but wasted little time getting to an unchallenged lead and quickly drew away from the field in Saturday’s co-featured Indian Maid Handicap. The Indian Maid, with a purse of $113,100, was originally scheduled for the turf but moved to the main track, rated muddy, after steady rain through much of Friday and early Saturday. For Darley Stable’s Abby’s Angel, who had never raced on grass, that might have been to her advantage.

Jon Court rode the winner Abby’s Angel: “She had the speed and it was uncontested. I was able to dictate a comfortable pace and I was able to finish with plenty of horse underneath me. In my opinion, it may have been an advantage to us when they took it off the turf. Everything came together. I want to dedicate this race to a good friend, Abner Sorrows Jr., who rode in Chicago for a long time and lost his daughter Abby recently so that’s what I was thinking about today when I was riding this horse Abby’s Angel.”

Tim Thornton, rider of second-place finisher Hungry Tigress, spoke highly of his mount: "The filly ran her race. That was a nice horse we were racing today. We just got outrun."

William Connelly, trainer of Hungry Tigress, was obviously disappointed but philosophical: "She likes the mud. But it was just too tough, slow pace and nobody went out with the leader."

“There was not enough pace for her so I had to lay her closer than she is used to”, according to Jamie Theriot who rode Final Refrain to a third-place finish. “I felt her (Apple Martini) coming on the outside so I was worried but I’m glad we held on to third.”

Abby’s Angel was clear by six and a half lengths when she crossed the finish line. It was another three lengths back to Final Refrain. They covered the mile and a sixteenth in 1:45.22 after fractions of :25.14, :49.71, 1:14.12, and 1:38.61 on a track rated sloppy. For the victory, Abby’s Angel earned $67,181.

Abby’s Angel paid $4,00, $3.00, and $2.40

Hungry Tigress returned $3.00 and $2.20

Final Refrain paid $2.40 to show

Awesome Gem returned $8.40, $4.40, and $3.80. Nite Light paid $6.40 and $5.20. Going Ballistic closed with a rush at 24.5-1 and brought back $10.20 to show.

Public Speaker Handles Slop in Carey

With races taken off the turf due to heavy rain in the past three days, Dale Bennett trained Public Speaker rose to the occasion to get the job done in the Grade 3, $100,000 Robert F. Carey Memorial.

Battling the pace while three wide, Public Speaker chased Antrim County through fractions of :24.68, :47.84, and 1:12.22. When asked in the stretch by rider Junior Alvarado, Public Speaker responded as he rallied to a 1 ¼ length victory, stopping the clock for the 1 mile and 70 yards in 1:42.16.

Junior Alvarado was pleased with the effort, “I knew the horse going into the race and I had a really nice horse to start, but I was a little unsure about the surface. He tried really hard down the stretch and liked the battle with Antrim County.”

Trainer Dale Bennett, “He’s just a racehorse. It was an unknown with the sloppy track but Mr. Karahalios and I talked about it and just decided to give him the chance because you just don’t know. You can’t teach it. You can’t train it. He’s just a runner.

Public Speaker paid $4.20, $2.60, and $2.10

Antrim County paid $3.00 and $2.20

Sebastian County paid $2.20

Hawthorne Race Course runs from October 1 – January 2, racing Wednesday – Sunday. First Post daily is 1:20 PM with a 2:30 PM post on Fridays. Hawthorne will host a pair of special Friday Cards on October 9 and 16 with a special post time of 5:30 PM.

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