Songforjohnmichael wins Santa Anita feature

Songforjohnmichael wins Santa Anita feature

Published Oct. 24, 2014 9:03 p.m. ET

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) Songforjohnmichael rallied in the stretch to win the $58,000 feature by 6 1/4lengths on Friday at Santa Anita.

Ridden by Joe Talamo, Songforjohnmichael ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.16 and paid $6.20, $4.20 and $2.80.

Image of Joplin returned $17.60 and $7.80, while 2-1 favorite Valley Cat was another two lengths back in third and paid $2.40 to show.

Songforjohnmichael gave Talamo his third win of the day. The 3-year-old gelding was fourth going into the far turn before beginning his rally.

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''I chirped to him around the turn and he just jumped into the bridle,'' Talamo said. ''He's got a lot of speed, but he settled great. We kind of idled to the quarter pole and then he just took off.''

The victory, worth $45,240, increased Songforjohnmichael's career earnings to $88,430, with three wins in seven starts.

Trainer Dan Hendricks said Songforjohnmichael was gelded after his second start last November, and he nearly died a few weeks later from internal complications. He was off from Nov. 22 to June 19 before returning to the races.

''He's quieter and more manageable,'' Hendricks said. ''This was a big race.''

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