Cheroot triggers $94K superfecta

ARCADIA, Calif. - Cheroot led for one stride of Sunday's $98,650 Daytona Handicap at Santa Anita - the last.

Ridden by Martin Pedroza, Cheroot finished a nose in front of Moth Ball, scoring his first stakes win in more than 14 months.

Cheroot ($58.80) rallied from sixth. He was one of five horses within a length at the finish of the race over about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. Cheroot was timed in 1:12.82, and was the third-longest shot in a field of 12.

Moth Ball, a 16-1 shot, finished a neck in front of Notional, the 3-1 favorite. Tenga Cat, 16-1, finished fourth. The $1 superfecta returned $94,718.20.

Cheroot was helped by an early pace of 21.08 and 43.27 seconds set by Tenga Cat and Stoneside.

Owned by Charlotte Wrather and trained by Darrell Vienna, Cheroot has won 7 of 27 starts and $494,501. A 7-year-old horse by Smokester, Cheroot won the On Trust Handicap at Hollywood Park in November 2006.