Turf Paradise track report

They're still buzzing about the dramatic finish of last Saturday's $100,000 Phoenix Gold Cup, when Proud Cardenal and jockey Perry Whetstone just managed to edge Flying Supercon.

For Proud Cardenal's trainer, Sal Gonzalez, everything worked out perfectly.

"I told the jockey to lie close to the pace and not let Flying Supercon get away," said Gonzalez. "At the quarter pole, I thought I was going to have a heart attack because Flying Supercon was taking off again. After the race, Perry told me he knew he had enough horse to catch him. I told him, 'You had just enough nose.' "

Winning owner Daniel Cardenas accepted the Gold Cup trophy.

"Daniel and I have been together for 17 years," said Gonzalez. "He's like a father to me. We own a ranch together in Anthony, New Mexico, about 20 miles from Sunland Park. We have 35 broodmares and three stallions there."

Gonzalez confirmed that Proud Cardenal will be pointed for a stakes on California Gold Rush Day, April 24, at Hollywood Park.

Trainer Dan Morgan was philosophical about the tough beat suffered by Flying Supercon.

"A nose is a nose, and no matter how long I look at it, the result is still a nose," said Morgan.

"I would have loved to win this race for my grandmother," he said. "My family and my grandmother, Alice Morgan, who was celebrating her 100th birthday Saturday, came in from Seal Beach [Calif.]. But for a nose it would have been my grandmother's birthday present."

* Larrupin', the sire of two-time stakes winner Irish Colony, has moved from Maryland to stand at Fleming Thoroughbred Farm in Cashion, Ariz., for the 2005 season after being purchased by the Walter H. Seifried Trust.

A 12-year-old son of Mr. Prospector out of the Deputy Minister mare Lantana Lady, Larrupin' will stand privately. Larrupin' is the sire of 46 winners from 70 starters, including Irish Colony and stakes winner Merger Talk.