Seattle Serenade proves best in Bull Dog Handicap

Jockey William Antongeorgi III proved to be a lucky charm for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer again Sunday, as they teamed to cap the Northern California fair racing season with a game victory by Seattle Serenade ($16.60) in the Bull Dog Handicap at the Big Fresno Fair.

Street Moxie seemed to be in control as he opened a three-length lead at the eighth pole in the 1 1/8-mile Bull Dog. But Antongeorgi wasn’t giving up, and neither was Seattle Serenade. The 5-year-old Smart Strike horse dug in and began cutting into Street Moxie’s lead. As he reached the sixteenth pole, Seattle Serenade began to drift out a bit but was still making up ground.

At the wire, his head was in front as he won in 1:51.27. The favored Force closed for third but was not a serious threat, finishing 1 3/4 lengths farther back.

Antongeorgi also scored a game victory on the Hollendorfer-trained Street Lad, who held on to win the Joseph T. Grace Handicap by a nose in a wire-to-wire performance at Santa Rosa.

Antongeorgi rode Seattle Serenade to back-to-back victories at Golden Gate and Oak Tree at Pleasanton in June and was rewarded with the mount when Seattle Serenade made his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs, where he wound up seventh. He then ran sixth behind Force in his turf debut in the Rolling Green at Golden Gate Fields on Sept. 17.

Owned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc., Hollendorfer, and Mark DeDomenico, Seattle Serenade earned $30,750 for his first stakes victory. His career earnings are $132,885, with five victories in 11 starts.