Holladay Road is not the type of horse that has to
carry his track around with him.
That’s why trainer Julio Canani is cautiously optimistic that the
7-year-old Street Cry gelding will perform admirably in Saturday’s
$175,000 Lava Man California Cup Classic presented by City National Bank at 1
1/16 miles.
“He
won the Crystal Water on this track, so he handles dirt,” Canani said. “I
ran him a mile at Del
Mar and he finished third (in the Brubaker) and (Joe) Talamo wanted to ride him
back. I take that as a good sign.”
Owned
by Gary and Wendy Broad, Holladay
Road has a 7-1-4 record from 18 career starts,
with earnings of $355,252. He was fourth in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap in
March, beaten five lengths by Ron the Greek.
Holladay Road was
third by a neck in last year’s Cal Cup Classic, behind Norvsky and Lucky Primo
in a blanket finish.
Probable
for the Classic: Holladay Road, Joe Talamo;
John Scott, Victor Espinoza; Lucky Primo, Tyler Baze; Norvsky, no
rider; Rousing Sermon, Rafael Bejarano;
and Woodmans Luck, Garrett Gomez.
Entries for Cal Cup will be taken Wednesday.