01/06/2013 6:22PM

Aqueduct: Sunny Desert extends winning streak to six by taking Cat Cay

By David Grening
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Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Sunny Desert, under Ramon Dominguez, handles two turns in the Cat Cay.

Sunny Desert proved she could go two turns as she ran her winning streak to six with a one-length victory in Sunday’s $67,500 Cat Cay Stakes at Aqueduct.

Moon Philly finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over Morrow Cove.

The race was marred by the breakdown of Wildcat’s Smile - who suffered a condylar fracture and sesamoid fracture to her right foreleg and had to be euthanized on the track. Wildcat’s Smile, who went down at the three-sixteenths pole while setting the pace, was a winner of 4 or 14 starts and earned $420,321 for owner/breeder Francis Paolangeli and trainer Dominic Galluscio.

Irad Ortiz, the rider of Wildcat’s Smile did get up, but was taken to North Shore University Hospital to have his left ankle evaluated.

Sunny Desert, a 4-year-old daughter of Wild Desert, was making her first start around two turns after winning her five previous starts in one-turn races ranging in distance from 6 1/2 furlongs to one mile.

Ramon Dominguez had Sunny Desert inside early on as Wildcat’s Smile set fractions of 25.64 seconds, 50.20, and 1:13.59. Wildcat’s Smile fell at the three-sixteenths, and Sunny Desert came outside of Moon Philly and outfinished that one to the wire.

Sunny Desert, owned by Max and Saul Kupferberg and trained by John Parisella, covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:42.46 and returned $4.30 as the even-money favorite. She is now 6 for her 11 in her career.

“It’s bittersweet because Dominic is like family to me,” said Parisella, referring to Dominic Galluscio, the trainer of Wildcat’s Smile. “According to Dominguez they weren’t going to beat her no matter what happened. He said he never asked her to run.”

Parisella said he would keep Sunny Desert in route races at least for the inner track season.

Sunny Desert was one of two favorites who won in a pick six sequence that returned $16,229 to 21 winning tickets.

There was a two-day carryover of $99,787 entering the card and an additional $423,499 was wagered into the pool.

The winning sequence of 1-4-7-6-3-8 consisted of Maleeh ($5.80), Our Mary Elizabeth ($12.40), Rambling ($6.40), Photon ($8.10), Sunny Desert ($4.30), and Azasecret ($8.50).

Aqueduct is dark Monday and Tuesday and live racing resumes on Wednesday.

Favorite euthanized after fracturing foreleg

Bomber Boy, the 3-2 favorite who was pulled up and vanned off in Sunday’s seventh race, was later euthanized due to a sesamoid fracture in his right foreleg.

Bomber Boy was a 5-year-old son of Bernardini who had won his previous two starts. He had been claimed two races back for $15,000 by trainer Rudy Rodriguez and owners Michael Imperio and Nassau CC Stables.

 

Ron Gillaspie 11 months ago
It's a shame that horses go down and I even considered betting Wildcat's Smile. Ended up betting Moon Philly and watched as he took the lead and seemed like a sure winner. The tracks ought to declare these type of races void and return all bets. Rose was so concerned with the outcome of the spill that he didn't take care of business. He was constantly looking back while Dominguez went on with the drive. Not fair!!! As I watched the drive, I was also concerned about the spill but I was also hoping to get the win. Lot of money went down the drain for all concerned.
avlamal 12 months ago
ND OF COURSE I HAD BOTH HORSES THE SLEAZE RUNNING HOT AND GREASY ATB THE BIG A ITS THGE VETS FAULT BOTTOMLINE GOTTA STOP THDS BAD FOR THE SPORT IT COULD BE THE END OF DIRT AT THE BIG A SOMEBODY SCREWED UP MY THING IS LET THEM USE WHATEVER DRUGS THAT WORK-MAYBE ITS A GOOD THING
shava04 12 months ago
Wildcat's Smile was a nice NY bred filly. Tough to see it happen in back to back races today.
Susan Huart 12 months ago
What a horrible day for Aqueduct. I saw Wildcat Smile go down and heard she couldn't even leave the track. Reading that another was euthanized the same day is devastating. Does this mean an inquiry? Irad has had groups of falls in the past when he was riding Questing (he fell 3x in 24 hours). I've often thought he is a bit reckless and/or immature in some of his rides.
Robin Cardoza 12 months ago
R.I.P to the connections of both Wildcat's Smile and Bomber Boy! Glad Irad is ok. Both injuries were heartbreaking and they weren't low level races so why would an "inquiry" be needed? Irad is an amazing young rider and your negative comments at a time when people are saddened by these losses are unnecessary.
Amy Hurley 12 months ago
Agreed. Wildcat's Smile was on the lead and in the clear when she broke down, and it clearly had nothing to do with the ride by Ortiz. So sad for both Wildcat's Smile and Bomber Boy and their connections.
Rachel Harding 12 months ago
A damn shame. RIP Wildcat's Smile and Bomber Boy