Desert Boom, a well-traveled son of Boomerang owned by Robert Bone and trained by Art Sherman, is the 2-1 morning line favorite for the Oak Tree Racing Association's marquee finale on Sunday, the $250,000 California Cup Classic presented by Smith Barney.A field of eight was entered in the 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up on a California Cup XVI program that features 11 races exclusively for California-breds. The 31-day meet ends on Sunday.Desert Boom, a 5-year-old dark bay or brown gelding, has a 14-2-7 record from 35 career starts with earnings of $594,420. In his last race, he was third in the grade II Hawthorne Gold Cup behind Super Frolic.
While Desert Boom is the most accomplished runner in the field, with $784,665 in earnings the speedy Texcess is the top money earner, thanks mainly to his victory last year in the $1 million Delta Jackpot. The gelded son of In Excess is trained by Paul Aguirre, who is part owner along with Omar Aldabbagh. "He's got to run against older horses for the first time," Aguirre said, "but he's training great. This is where he belongs."The field for the Classic:
1--Devil Badgett, Rene Douglas, 114, 15-1
2--McCann's Mojave, Alex Solis, 118, 5-2
3--Cheroot, David Flores, 113, 15-1
4--Desert Boom, Roberto Gonzalez, 122, 2-1
5--Deputy Doc Renzi, Pat Valenzuela, 113, 6-1
6--Texcess, Victor Espinoza, 116, 9-2
7--Mr. Joe C, Martin Pedroza, 114, 15-1
8--Carano, Garrett Gomez, 115, 6-1.