Fairplex Park: Atticus Jack leads them all the way in Hinds Handicap
POMONA, Calif. – The lone front-runner in the $75,000 Ralph M. Hinds Handicap at Fairplex Park stole the signature race of the 13-day Los Angeles County Fair meet that ended Sunday.
Atticus Jack is trained by Brian Koriner, who gave simple instructions to jockey Agapito Delgadillo.
“Go to the lead and at the half-mile pole, just send,” Koriner said. “Open up, and see what happens.”
What happened was Atticus Jack ($15.20) was gone after an opening half-mile in 48.99 seconds and six furlongs in 1:13.21. He finished the about 1 1/8-mile race in 1:51.04, winning by three-quarters of a length over stretch-runner Norvsky.
El Gato Malo went one-paced for third. Quindici Man, the 8-5 favorite, was unable to make up the necessary ground and finished fourth. Achak, Pole Ir, and Chocolate Candy completed the finish order.
Atticus Jack, a 5-year-old allowance-caliber gelding sired by Atticus, was winning for the fifth time in 14 starts. He earned $42,250, increasing his career earnings to $238,240.
Martin Pedroza won four races Sunday and finished as top rider for the 13th consecutive season at Fairplex. Pedroza led Christian Santiago-Reyes 35-23; Delgadillo finished third with 13 wins.
Doug O’Neill led the trainer standings for the eighth time in 10 years. O’Neill finished the meet with 11 wins. Craig Lewis finished second with eight.
Bettors wagered $265,590 into the closing-day pick six, which began with a $36,333 carryover. The pick six returned $4,001.20.
Santiago-Reyes handed seven-day suspension
Santiago-Reyes was handed a seven-day suspension (Oct. 6-9, 10, 13-14) for careless riding in Saturday’s race 11, the $50,000 Las Madrinas Handicap. The suspension was uncharacteristically severe for one race. Stewards Kim Sawyer, Vic Stauffer, and Scott Cheney ruled there were two incidents in the race that led to the seven-day penalty.
“There were two infractions,” Sawyer explained. “One was on the backstretch, the other in the stretch.”
Santiago-Reyes made an early move with Always in Style, who shifted in at the five-sixteenths pole and caused Lilly Fa Pootz to steady. Always in Style also drifted from her path in the stretch. Stewards did not disqualify Always in Style from her runner-up finish.