Bobadieu defeats odds-on favorite

Bobadieu showed again sprinting on dirt is what he wants as he posted a 16-1 upset in Saturday's $45,000 Caballos del Sol at Turf Paradise.

Owned by Ez-Az Thoroughbreds LLP and trained by Doug Oliver, the 4-year-old Bobadieu was coming off a big win in an 870-yard mixed breed race here on Oct. 14 after failing in routes on dirt and turf. He bided his time early in the six-furlong Caballos del Sol, made a strong run into the lane to take the lead, and had to deal with 1-5 favorite Nationhood, who roared up alongside. They battled the rest of the way with Bobadieu prevailing by a head. Nationhood ended up 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Prorunner, who finished third in the field of seven.

Bobadieu covered the distance in 1:09.68 under Scott Stevens and paid $34.20. The winner's share of $27,000 pushes his career earnings for $83,578 from 5 wins in 17 starts.