Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 19, 2011

17

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 19, 2011 

CALIFORNIA NECTAR HEADS FIELD OF EIGHT 

IN GRADE III SANTA PAULA


ARCADIA, Calif.– With turf marathon 
standouts Champ Pegasus and Bourbon Bay 
in Dubai, Hollywood Derby winner Haimish 
Hy finds an opportunity to gain ground in the 
division in Sunday’s 60th running of the Grade 
II, $150,000 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 ••• miles over 
Santa Anita’s Camino Real Turf Course. 

The 4-year-old colt, trained by Art Sherman 
and to be ridden by Garrett Gomez, heads a cast 
of eight set for the second in Santa Anita’s series 
of grass marathons. The series is climaxed by the 
Grade II, $150,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap 
at 1 ••• miles that traditionally closes the meet, this 
year on April 17. 

Classy California Nectar is the most 
accomplished of eight entrants in Sunday’s 
companion feature, the 26th running of the 
Grade III, $100,000 Santa Paula Stakes for 3-year-
old fillies at 6 ••• furlongs. 

Haimish Hy closed from 18 lengths behind to 
finish third, 3 ••• lengths behind Champ Pegasus 
and runner-up Bourbon Bay, who were noses 
apart crossing the wire in the marathon series 
opener, the Grade II San Luis Obispo Stakes at 1 
••• miles on Feb. 19. Champ Pegasus and San Luis 
Rey defending champion Bourbon Bay have since 
been designated to compete in the $5 million 
Dubai Sheema Classic on March 26. 

That leaves Haimish Hy as the most likely 
to take advantage of the void, and the $10,000 
bargain purchase appears to be on the rise with 
earnings that already have reached $305,980. 

“He tried to run with them (Champ Pegasus 
and Bourbon Bay),” Gomez said following the 
San Luis Obispo, “and it was his first time going 
a mile-and-a-half. He actually ran a really good 
race. If he runs back to that, he’ll be super tough.” 

A Kentucky-bred son of Ecton Park, Haimish 
Hy has done his best running on grass. Following 
his victory in last November’s Grade I Hollywood 
Derby at 1 ••• miles on turf, Sherman tried 
conventional dirt for the first time, and Haimish 
Hy finished sixth in Santa Anita’s Grade II San 
Fernando Stakes. 

He had closed strongly to win the Hollywood 
Derby in his longest race prior to the San Luis 
Obispo while exhibiting his affinity for marathons 
as well as the grass. With a 5-1-2 record in 12 
career starts, Haimish Hy has won 3 of 5 races 
on turf. He carries high weight of 123 pounds in 
Sunday’s marathon while conceding five pounds 
to each of his seven opponents. 

His opposition in the San Luis Rey includes 
Imponente Purse, fourth in the San Luis Obispo, 
less than a length behind Haimish Hy; Juniper 
Pass, fifth in the San Luis Obispo; Romp, second 
to Bourbon Bay in last year’s San Luis Obispo; 
Buenos Dias, second to Champ Pegasus in last 
summer’s Del Mar Handicap; Falcon Rock, a close 
fourth in the Del Mar Handicap, and improving 
New Zealand import Dahoud. Restless Soul, a 
7-year-old British-bred mare, will be making her 
first U.S. start in open company. 

The complete field for the San Luis Rey Stakes, 
with jockeys and weights in post position order: 
Haimish Hy, Garrett Gomez, 123; Romp, Alonso 
Quinonez, 118; Flacon Rock, Brice Blanc, 118; 
Imponente Purse, Chantal Sutherland, 118; 
Buenos Dias, Martin Pedroza, 118; Restless 
Soul, Joseph Talamo, 118; Juniper Pass, Rafael 
Bejarano, 118, and Dahoud, Joel Rosario, 118. 

Multiple stakes victor California Nectar, 
winner of the Grade II Santa Ynez Stakes at 
seven furlongs on Jan. 15, holds a distinct class 
advantage over her opposition in the Santa Paula. 
Prior to the Santa Ynez, she was victorious in the 
$100,000 California Breeders’ Championship. 

A California-bred daughter of Stormy Atlantic 
trained by Doug O’Neill for breeder Suarez 
Racing, California Nectar has undergone a brief 
freshening since tiring to a well-beaten fifth in 
Santa Anita’s Grade I Las Virgenes Stakes on Feb. 
9. Patrick Valenzuela, who was aboard for a neck 
victory over Las Virgenes winner Zazu in the 
Santa Ynez, has the return call in the Santa Paula. 

“She had a hard little campaign and she got a 
little tired,” said O’Neill, “so we kicked her out 
after the Las Virgenes and gave her a couple 
of weeks on the farm. She’s come back strong 
and we think she’s got a big chance on Sunday.” 
California Nectar has posted a 3-3-0 record in 
eight races for earnings of $218,800. She will be 
the 123-pound high weight on Sunday while each 
of her opponents carries 118. 

Her primary opposition in the Santa Paula 
could be provided by a pair of first-out maiden 
winning fillies: Warren Williamson’s Mildly 
Offensive scored by 4 ••• lengths in her first out for 
trainer Carla Gaines with a sizzling six furlongs 
over a wet fast track in 1:08 1/5. Bejarano rides. 
Hout Bay, trained by John Sadler for Keith 
Abrahams, rallied strongly in her debut to win by 
1 ••• lengths while covering 5 ••• furlongs in 1:02 
4/5. Joel Rosario rides. 

The complete field for the Santa Paula Stakes, 
with jockeys and weights in post position order: 
Tiz the Route, Blanc, 118; Joe Ja, Corey Nakatani, 
118; Dawnie Macho, Victor Espinoza, 118; 
California Nectar, Patrick Valenzuela, 123; Hout 
Bay, Rosario, 118; Justenufappeal, Talamo, 118; 
Top Debutante, David Flores, 118, and Mildly 
Offensive, Bejarano, 118. 

The San Luis Rey will be contested as the fifth 
race on nine-race program with the Santa Paula 
going as the eighth. First post is at 12:30 p.m. 


MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE RIGHT 

HYBRID GOLF CLUBS FOR YOUR GAME 

I think the hybrid 
golf clubs are going 
to wind up being 
a better invention 
than the sand 
wedge. I have to ad 
one more thought. 
IF you buy the 
right one for your 
game.

Can you believe 
how incredible 
it is to stand in 
the middle of the 
fairway 200 yards 
from the green 
and you get to pull 
out one of those 
beautiful replacement clubs instead of a 3 
iron? That is exactly where the problems 
begin. You better hope that you bought the 
correct 3 iron replacement. From the minute 
I heard about the hybrids I have referred to 
them as replacement clubs.

Of course I have a reason why I call them 
replacement clubs. I bought three of them 
before it dawned on me that I was just buying 
them because I liked them, not because they 
were correct for my game. That is when I did 
some research that I will share with you.

The Rules of Golf states that you are allowed 
to carry 14 clubs in your bag. Let’s do some 
math. You probably use a driver, putter, 
pitching wedge, sand wedge and LOB. That’s 
five golf clubs and nine to go. Most of you 
have a 9-8-7-6 irons. Now we have nine clubs 
and four to go.

You have to make sure of two things when 
you are replacing your longer irons. If you 
don’t buy the hybrids in a set you are going to 
get different shafts from different companies. 
Even thou you bought a regular shaft from 
one company that doesn’t mean it is going to 
be the same regular shaft of another company. 
The second thing you have to be careful of if 
you don’t buy your hybrids in a set is the loft 
on the clubs.

That is where my problems began early on. 
I was buying different hybrids and the lofts 
were too close together.

The following chart will help you understand 
what you have to purchase for a replacement 
club:

17 degree hybrid would replace a 2 iron or 

 5 wood

20 degree hyrid would replace a 3 iron or 

 7 wood

23 degree hybrid would replace a 4 iron

27 degree hybrid would replace a 5 iron

31 degree hybrid would replace a 6 iron

In closing I have to explain one last thing to 

you. Not all companys have the same degree 
of loft. Some companies might make a 24-
28-32 degree set of hybrids. The one thing 
to keep in mind is that you are REPLACING 
a club in your bag. You don’t want two clubs 
with the same loft.

I hope this helps you out the next time you 
head out to buy a couple of hybrid golf clubs 
for your game. 

If you would like to learn more, contact Bobby 
at www.igolffixes.com


HAIMISH HY LIKELY FAVORITE IN SUNDAY’S 
GRADE II SAN LUIS REY MARATHON

Live from Burger Continental, Pasadena

The Harvey Hyde Show

535 So. Lake Ave. Pasadena (626) 792 - 6634

Every Thursday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hard-hitting, High impact Sports Talk Radio

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