Nine jumps before the wire, Alex Solis had already hit Kona Gold 12 times from the right side.
Kona Gold pushed his nose in front of Caller One.
Three jumps from the wire, Solis raised his whip again Sunday, not to again strike the 7-year-old gelding but for a victory flourish.
"I just love this horse to death," Solis said after Kona Gold's victory by three-fourths of a length in the $200,000 Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap. Trainer Bruce Headley's horse has won seven in a row and this victory, worth $120,000, pushed him over the $2-million mark for owners Headley, Irwin and Andrew Molasky and Michael Singh.
Kona Gold became the first back-to-back winner of the Crosby since Cherry River in 1976-77. His time Sunday for the six furlongs was 1:08 1/5, a fifth of a second faster than last year.
[ Ссылка ]
