Goldencents dominates to win Pat O'Brien

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Del Mar, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Goldencents, winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, led the entire way Sunday to win the $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar.

Trained by Doug O'Neill and ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Goldencents, the 17-10 second pick, took the lead shortly after the start and set the pace the rest of the way in the seven-furlong sprint. The 4-year-old colt cruised to a 4 1/4-length victory over 3-2 favorite and last year's winner Fed Biz. Goldencents had finished second to Fed Biz by a length in 2013.

Owned by W C Racing and Glenn Sorgenstein, Goldencents broke the track record for seven furlongs that Fed Biz set in last year's Pat O'Brien. Goldencents' new record of 1:20.99 eclipses the 1:21.12 held by Fed Biz on Del Mar's soon to be replaced synthetic main track.

Silentio finished third with Syndicated fourth. Color of Courage, Big Macher , and Indexical completed the finish. Diamond Bachelor was an early scratch.

Goldencents gets his first win of the year after posting a pair of seconds. The Pat O'Brien win was worth $150,000 to bring the colt's career bankroll to $2,434,000. The 4-year-old has six wins and six seconds from 16 lifetime starts.

He began his 2014 campaign with a second-place result to Palace Malice in the $1.25 million Met Mile on the Belmont Stakes program June 7. The colt followed with another runner-up finish to Big Macher at Del Mar in last month's Bing Crosby Stakes.

Goldencents won the Dirt Mile last November at Santa Anita as the 7-2 second choice. Ridden by Bejarano, he defeated Golden Ticket by 2 3/4 lengths by setting the pace the entire distance.

Also in 2013, the colt won the Sham Stakes and Santa Anita Derby before finishing 17th in the Kentucky Derby. He was fifth in the Preakness and then posted three straight second-place finishes in the Bing Crosby, Pat O'Brien and Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes.

Goldencents paid $5.40, $2.80 and $2.40. Fed Biz returned $3.00 and $2.40, and Silentio paid $3.00 to show.