World Light rallies to take Half Moon Bay Handicap

SAN MATEO, Calif. ? Things didn't go right at the start for World Light ($8.80), but he was able to rally off the pace to defeat Marcutio by one length to win the $68,450 Half Moon Bay Handicap at Bay Meadows on Sunday.

Jockey Ron Warren Jr. said he was told to put World Light into contention early but got pinched back in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.

"They were going too fast so I didn't want to ask him to keep up because there would be no way he'd be able to finish so I just waited," Warren said.

Marcutio was forced to steady inside the quarter pole before he shifted out and got the lead in the stretch, but he was no match for the fast-finishing World Light, whose winning time was 1:42.57.

World Light was second in the Emerald Downs Breeders' Cup Derby on Sept. 2 and stopped at Bay Meadows, awaiting this race, before returning to David Hofmans' barn in Southern California.

The win was his second in seven starts. He earned $33,800 to increase his career total to $122,644.