ARCADIA, Calif. -- Five-year-old Bertrando, reunited with favorite rider Gary Stevens, ran off to a clear lead, looked finished when passed by Dramatic Gold and Tossofthecoin, then came back to win the $214,400 Goodwood Handicap yesterday at Santa Anita Park.
Bertrando finished a neck in front of 7-5 favorite Dramatic Gold in a stakes-record 1 minute, 46 3/5 seconds for the 1 1/8 miles. Tossofthecoin, the longest shot in the field at 20-1, was a length back in third.
Co-owner Eddie Nahem said he will leave the decision whether to run Bertrando in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 5 to his partner, Marshall Naify.