Jockey Rafael Bejarano dominated the California Cup at Santa Anita on Saturday, winning four of the day's five stakes for state-bred horses, including a victory aboard the favorite, Norvsky, in the $175,000 California Cup Classic.
Santa Anita's leading jockey also won the Cal Cup Juvenile on Rousing Sermon, the Juvenile Fillies aboard Starlight Magic and the $125,000 Distaff with Unzip Me. He added an allowance victory that was not part of the cup competition.
''My agent and I have been working hard. I have to give him a lot of credit,'' the 29-year-old jockey said. ''He's been working really hard every morning and trying to pick the right horses for each race. I'm very happy.''
In the only Cal Cup race Bejarano didn't win, jockey Joel Rosario and Courtside took the $100,000 California Cup Sprint. Bejarano's mount had to scratch just before the start.
Despite being aboard a heavy 3-2 favorite, Bejarano's toughest win came in the Classic.
He and Norvsky had to burst from fourth to first in the closing yards to beat Lucky Primo by a neck, with Holladay Road just a nose back in third.
''I was a little worried in the stretch because I had to move early at the three-eighths pole to get him close,'' Bejarano said. ''Then I needed to make another move at the top of the stretch. My horse had enough to keep going, and he showed me a big kick.''
Norvsky, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Don Warren, covered 1-1/8 miles on turf in 1 minute, 46.97 seconds and paid $5.
Norvsky has won five times in 16 races. The $105,000 payday improved his career earnings to $397,844.
