Hollywood Park: Rosario making his presence felt

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Red-hot jockey Joel Rosario won four races at Betfair Hollywood Park for the 11th time in his career on Thursday.

While Rosario is based on the East Coast on a year-round basis, he plans to spend enough time in California this month that he might crack the top 10 in the jockey standings, at least briefly, before the meeting ends on Dec. 22.

Rosario was booked to ride at Hollywood Park this Saturday and will be back in California next Saturday to ride Kobe’s Back in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity. Rosario rode in Southern California on a regular basis until June 2012 when he moved to the New York-Florida circuit.

Rosario is booked to ride at Gulfstream Park in Florida on Sunday.

Thursday, he won the first race on Frandontjudge ($3.80), the fourth on Tosheen ($7.80), the sixth on Papa Smitty ($16.80), and seventh on Moone’s My Name ($5.20).

Moone’s My Name is trained by John Sadler, who also trains Kobe’s Back.

Kobe’s Back is part of a projected field of eight for the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity, run over 1 1/16 miles.

Owned by Lee and Susan Searing, Kobe’s Back won the Willard Proctor Memorial Stakes over 5 1/2 furlongs in his debut in June, but was sidelined during the summer because of concern over a knee. In his comeback, Kobe’s Back was second by 7 3/4 lengths to CashCall Futurity contender Shared Belief in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes over seven furlongs on Nov. 10.

The added distance of the CashCall Futurity is not a concern for Sadler.

“He seems like he’s coming on strong in the last two or three weeks,” Sadler said. “He doesn’t pull in the afternoons. I don’t think he’ll have any issues. With his running style, he finishes and he relaxes.”

Sadler also plans to start Candy Boy, the winner of a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race by 8 1/4 lengths for the Searings on Nov. 22. Other candidates are Bond Holder, Craftsman, Rankhasprivileges, Tamarando, and Tap It Rich.