Posted on Mon, May. 08, 2006

email this

print this

Garcia unseats Baze atop jockey standings

TIMES WIRE SERVICES

sports digest

Golden Gate Fields concluded its 2006 spring meet Sunday with apprentice Martin Garcia atop the jockey standings and Irish-bred Hallowed Dream winning the closing-day feature, the Grade III $125,625 Yerba Buena Breeders' Cup Handicap.

Garcia, 21, won the riding championship at the 65-day meet with 109 victories. He took the title by 15 wins over Hall of Famer Russell Baze.

Baze had been the leading rider at every major Northern California meet at which he had competed full time -- not missed time due to injury or competed on another circuit -- since 1980.

"I feel great to have the opportunity to beat one of the best jockeys," Garcia said of winning the riding title. "I thank all the trainers that helped me out and my great agent, Roger Olguin."

Garcia is moving his tack to Southern California and will begin riding full time at Hollywood Park on Wednesday.

Jockey Dennis Carr, who returned from a five-day suspension Sunday, rallied Hallowed Dream from seventh in a field of 10 to win the Yerba Buena by 11/4 lengths over Sky Dreams.

Based in Southern California and trained by Ben Cecil, Hallowed Dream took the 1-1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares in 1:47.76 -- just missing the course record of 1:47.71 set by Blues Traveller in the 1994 Rolling Green Handicap.

"This was good way to salvage the week coming out of a five-day suspension," Carr said.

Hallowed Dream, a 4-year-old filly owned by Gary Tanaka, earned her first stakes victory and fourth win in 16 career starts. The Yerba Buena win was worth $68,750 and boosted her earnings to $368,448. Hallowed Dream was the second choice in the wagering and paid $11 to win.

Jerry Hollendorfer collected his 28th straight training title at Golden Gate Fields by saddling 57 winners.

Thoroughbred racing in the Bay Area moves to Bay Meadows, which opens a 28-day season Wednesday.

-- Golden Gate Fields

• Star Parade beat defending champion Hollywood Story by 13/4 lengths to win the $100,000 Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood Park. Ridden by Martin Pedroza, Star Parade ($5.20) ran 11/16 miles in 1:42.26 for his ninth victory in 31 starts.

-- Associated Press

HOCKEY

The United States beat winless Denmark 3-0 in Riga, Latvia, with goals from Andrew Alberts, Yan Stastny and Richard Park to reach the second round at the World Championships along with Canada, Finland and the Czech Republic. Canada beat Norway 7-1 behind Sidney Crosby's goal and three assists, joining the U.S. in the next round from Group D with 2-0 mark. The Americans finish first-round play against Canada on Tuesday.

-- Associated Press

SOCCER

Zinedine Zidane scored in his final home appearance for Real Madrid, heading in a cross from David Beckham in a 3-3 tie with Villarreal in the Spanish league. France's Zidane, who is retiring after this summer's World Cup, will make his final appearance for Madrid at Sevilla next week.

-- Associated Press

• Thierry Henry scored a hat trick in Arsenal's final game at historic Highbury, powering his team to a 4-2 victory over Wigan for fourth place in the English Premier League.

-- Associated Press

• Abby Wambach scored three goals to lead the United States over Japan 3-1 in the opener of a two-game exhibition tour in Kumamoto, Japan. Wambach has 54 goals in 71 international appearances. The teams meet again Tuesday at Osaka.

-- Associated Press

TENNIS

Top-seeded Kim Clijsters defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-2 to win the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland. Serving at 5-5 in the first set, Kuznetsova pushed a forehand wide to give Clijsters the break. Kuznetsova had two break points in the next service game but couldn't take advantage. She lost for the third straight year in the final.

-- Associated Press

• Top-seeded David Nalbandian beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4 to become the third two-time winner of the Estoril Open in Oeiras, Portugal. Sixth-seeded Zheng Jie won the women's final when No. 8 Na Li retired with leg cramps. Na won the first set 7-6 (5), but Zheng took the second 7-5.

-- Associated Press

• Olivier Rochus beat unseeded Kristof Vliegen 6-4, 6-2 in the all-Belgian final at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany.

-- Associated Press

CYCLING

Robbie McEwen won the second stage of the Giro d'Italia, edging Olaf Pollack and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini in a group sprint at the finish line. McEwen completed 122.1 miles from Mons to Charleroi, Belgium, in 4 hours, 51 minutes, 40 seconds. Defending champion Paolo Savoldelli retained the overall lead by finishing in the main group in the same time as the winner.

-- Associated Press

MISCELLANEOUS

A group of private developers called Dreamscape Development is proposing to build a massive sports complex just south of the Las Vegas Strip, but mayor Oscar Goodman says the project is just that -- a dream. "Show me the money," he said. The Dallas-based group plans to build an 80,000-seat domed stadium and 25,000-seat arena on land it plans to acquire from clothing magnate Fred Nassiri, according to local officials.

-- Associated Press