Fred Carrillo and Dan Cassella's California-bred invader Bordonaro, the 2-5 favorite trained by Bill Spawr and ridden by Patrick Valenzuela, won the $150,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (gr. III) by 1 1/4 lengths over Friendly Island Thursday at Oaklawn Park.The victory was the eighth in 10 starts for Bordonaro, the former claiming horse who covered the six furlongs in 1:08 3/5 over a fast track, just three ticks off Bonapaw's stakes record set in 2001. The running time was the fastest of the 2006 season at Oaklawn. Bordonaro carried top weight of 122 pounds, seven more than the runner-up.Bordonaro, a homebred 5-year-old gelded son of Memo, broke on top from post six in the field of seven sprinters and was quickly joined from the inside by Florida shipper Friendly Island, piloted by Stewart Elliott.Those two raced as a team through a quarter in :21 3/5 and a half in :44 1/5. Bordonaro ($2.80, $2.20, $2.20) gradually eased away from the stubborn Friendly Island to score his fourth straight victory, all in stakes and over four different tracks.Friendly Island ($4.60, $3) was clearly best of the rest. He finished five lengths in front of the Oaklawn-based Semaphore Man ($2.40), a winner of four of five starts over the track who raced third throughout under Kendrick Carmouche.The $90,000 first prize boosted the chestnut Bardonaro's earnings to $462,164.That Tat finished fourth, followed by Level Playingfield, Santana Strings, and Rodeo's Castle.
(Chart, Equibase)