 Coady
Photography/story by Ty Wyant
Derive Game Winner of Gold Cup
Phoenix, AZ - Feb. 18, 2012 - Rick Weist’s Derive dug down in deep
stretch to score his fifth-straight win and push his record to
five-for-five at Turf Paradise with a thrilling win in the $75,000
Phoenix Gold Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Derive, under Jorge Carreno, took the lead on the turn in the
six-furlong sprint, but Absolutely Cool refused to give away while
racing along the rail with Glenn Corbett up.
Absolutely Cool put his nose in front nearing the wire and Derive
fought back to get the nose win in 1:08.69.
Saratoga Boot, the 13-10 favorite, got up for third while never
threatening the top-two finishers.
A six-year-old son of Cozzene, Derive has moved up from the claiming
and allowance ranks for trainer Robertino Diodoro. The gelding won
his first three starts at Turf Paradise with a conditioned allowance
win and then winning twice at the $10,000 to $12,500 claiming level.
Derive stepped up to the stakes division in his previous start and
took the Swift Stakes in gate-to-wire fashion as the 9-5 favorite on
January 28.
Karl Krieg III’s Absolutely Cool made his third start off a layoff
in the Phoenix Gold Cup for trainer Valorie Lund. He was second in
the Caballos Del Sol Stakes and third in the Swift Stakes in his
previous outs this winter at Turf Paradise.
Also on the stakes tripleheader card at Turf Paradise were the
$35,000 Turf Paradise Handicap and the $35,000 Sun City Handicap.
In the Turf Paradise Handicap at one-and-one-sixteenth mile on the
grass, Pascual Gomez’s All Saint defended his title with a
one-and-three-quarter length score in 1:43.06.
Jockey Michael Iammarino placed All Saint, the 5-2 second choice, in
contention early along the rail and then took control of the race
heading down the backstretch. The six-year-old son of Skimming then
maintained his advantage under a strong ride.
Grandpa Roy was second by more than three lengths over Double
Shuffle.
All Saint won last year’s Turf Paradise Handicap in front-running
fashion by one-and-one-half length as the 9-5 favorite. He has now
won three of his five starts — all stakes — at Turf Paradise with
one runner-up effort.
In the Sun City Handicap for females at one mile on turf, jockey
Corbett got the win aboard Hard Seven after his close second-place
finish on Absolutely Cool in the Gold Cup.
John J. Campo III’s Hard Seven threatened on the second turn and
took the lead by the stretch. The four-year-old daughter of Rock
Hard Ten extended her advantage to more than one length and then
crossed the finish line one-and-one-quarter lengths in front.
The Dan McFarlane-trained Hard Seven raced the mile in 1:36.54 for
her second win from three starts at Turf Paradise and push her
record on the grass to a pair of wins and two second-place finishes
from four starts. She won the Chandler Stakes on the grass at Turf
Paradise back in November and came off a second-place run in the
grassy Glendale Handicap at one-and-one-sixteenth mile.
Cell Line Forever was second by a neck over 13-10 favorite Rare
Sunset.
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