Gold and Roses Blows by 'Grocer in Calloway

(from Saratoga report)
Henry C. Gregory's Gold and Roses pulled away from the front-running favorite Galloping Grocer on a sealed, sloppy main track at Saratoga Race Course Wednesday under jockey Edgar Prado for a 6 ¾-length victory in the $250,000 Cab Calloway Division of the New York Stallion Series.

Carrying top weight of 123 pounds and conceding two pounds to Galloping Grocer, Gold and Roses sat off fractions of :22 4/5, :46 3/5, 1:11 3/5 in the nine-furlong contest. As they entered the lane, Prado guided Gold and Roses past the tiring Galloping Grocer on the inside. Prado took a glance back to find no other serious threat and rode his mount to the wire in a victorious 1:53 on a track listed as sloppy.

"I thought that (Galloping Grocer) was the horse to beat," Prado said. "We tried to put a little pressure on. John (Velazquez, jockey of Galloping Grocer) started riding his horse before the three-eighths pole, and I had a pretty good hold of my horse. I wanted to wait as long as I could to see if anyone was coming. But no one did."

It was the fourth win in 11 starts for the Gold Token gelding, who earned $10,000 bonuses for both the breeder and the stallion owner. He yielded a payoff of $5.50, $3.00 and $2.80.

"It was obvious that Galloping Grocer needed the race," said winning trainer Tom Bush. "It's tough to get a horse ready for a stakes race against horses that have been running all along. I wasn't too worried about the slop, but I was concerned because he never ran over it. He handled it fine. I thought the early fractions were insane, and that was a concern with Gold and Roses running a mile and an eighth."

Galloping Grocer ($2.80, $2.60), the 11-10 choice making his first start since beating only once horse in the Preakness (gr. I) in May, was nearly five lengths ahead of third-place finisher Western Galaxy ($5.80), despite the hot early fractions.

Organizer, Meniscus, Twooutintheninth, and Breeze On were also-rans.

(Chart, Equibase)