Champs Elysees and Spice Route Take Home Turf Titles

by Patricia Woo | Dec 10 2008

Last Saturday, Champs Elysees and Spice Route both won their respective turf races... but in vastly different ways.

After a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic in October, Champs Elysees finally connected all the dots on his way to a grade 1 win in the United States in the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The 5-year-old horse was the favorite in the 1 1/2 mile race for 3-year-olds and up, and he delivered a commanding performance. Under the guidance of jockey Jose Valdivia Jr., Champs Elysees was content to sit near the back of the pack, well behind pacesetter Mr. Chairman. With a half-mile left in the race, he was five-and-a-half lengths behind the leader. But at the top of the stretch, the Bobby Frankel trainee made an electrifying move, surging to the lead and running down his rivals which included mares Black Mamba and High Heel Sneakers, Mr. Chairman, Winchester and Church Service. Fourth in last year's Hollywood Turf Cup, Obrigado staged a late rally to try to beat Champs Elysees, but mild urging from Valdivia was enough to seal the victory for Champs Elysees.

Champs Elysees takes home $150,000 thanks to his Hollywood Turf Cup win, boosting his career earnings to $1,354,761.

Meanwhile, over at Calder Race Course in Miami, Fla., Spice Route found himself in a furious stretch race with Soldier's Dancer in the $100,000 Gr. 3 Tropical Turf Handicap for 3-year-olds and up.

A.P. Magic, the early leader, was caught at the top of the stretch in the 1 1/8 mile race by Silver Tree and Ballast but managed to pull away at the sixteenth-pole. Spice Route, fourth in the early going, then pulled in front but was joined in the deep stretch by race favorite Soldier's Dancer. The two horses hit the wire together, but it was Spice Route, under jockey Javier Castellano, who bobbed his head at the perfect time for the win. A.P. Magic held on for third.

"My horse runs best coming from off the pace but I didn't want to be too far back," Castellano said. "I had to move when I did to give my horse the best chance to win, even though I knew that Soldier's Dancer would be closing behind me. I just had to keep busy to hold him off."

Spice Route, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Roger Attfield, notched his first graded stakes victory with this win, which puts his career earnings at $580,947.

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