Temple City wins Del Mar feature
July 31, 2010DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Temple City won the $125,000 Cougar II Handicap on Friday at Del Mar, leading wire-to-wire en route to a 3 1/4-length victory.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, who had three winners on the card, Temple City ran 1 1/2 miles in a track-record 2:30.46 and paid $4.40, $3.60 and $2.10. The previous track record was 2:30.53, set by Zappa in the same race two years ago.
Defending champion Unusual Suspect returned $3.80 and $2.20, while Richard's Kid was another half-length back in third and paid $2.10 to show.
Temple City earned a spot in the Breeders' Cup Marathon at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5 as part of the ``Win and You're In'' program.
The victory, worth $75,000, was Temple City's fourth in 12 career starts. Trainer Carla Gaines saddled three winners.
Patrick Valenzuela rode his first winner since returning to California after a 2 1/2-year absence. He won the sixth aboard Warren's Jitterbug, who paid $7.40. The 47-year-old jockey with a lengthy history of alcohol and substance abuse was granted a probationary license last week by the California Horse Racing Board.