Street Hero beat Midshipman by three-quarters of a length Sunday in the $250,000 Norfolk Stakes. September 29th, 2008
Street Hero beat Midshipman by three-quarters of a length Sunday in the $250,000 Norfolk Stakes. And Hyperbaric won the $200,000 Oak Tree Mile, giving both horses automatic berths next month in the Breeders Cup at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Alex Solis, Street Hero covered 1 1-16 miles in 1:42.12 to earn a spot in the BC Juvenile. Midshipman survived a three-horse photo for second, while Believe in Hope was another nose back in third.
Regal Ransom, the 7-5 favorite who had shipped from the East Coast, was never a serious factor while fading to eighth. Silent Valor, another Eastern horse, was fifth.
Street Hero, owned, trained and bred in Kentucky by Myung Kwon Cho, won for the first time in five starts. The son of Street Cry ran with blinkers for the first time.
I can hardly talk, Im so excited, Cho said. Down the stretch, my heart was pumping. This is my biggest win, and Ive been training around 17 years. I think I have to go to the Breeders Cup. If I dont go, the riders going to kill me.
Street Hero paid $14.20, $6.40 and $4. Midshipman returned $4.40 and $3.20 and Believe in Hope paid $5.60 to show.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Midshipman, trying two turns for the first time, would run in the BC Juvenile.
He lost a lot of ground, but he got beat by a good horse and he learned a lot today, Baffert said.
In the Oak Tree Mile, jockey Garrett Gomez earned his 3,000th career victory aboard Hyperbaric, who beat Tybalt by a neck on the turf in 1:33.62.
Winning trainer Julio Canani was undecided about running the 5-year-old gelding in the BC Mile.
Winning the race is great, but having Garrett aboard for his 3,000th makes it even more special, he said. He rode him well the last three times and won twice, so he knows the horse.
Hyperbaric paid $5.20, $2.80 and $2.60. Tybalt returned $5.80 and $3.60, while Tropic Storm paid $4.40 to win.
Gomez, 36, overcame substance abuse problems to win last years Eclipse Award as the nations leading jockey.
Ive had some bumps in the road, and I think a milestone like this makes you reflect back and appreciate where you are, he said. Im a better person because of what Ive been through. As long as I keep winning, I hope to get to 4,000 pretty quick.