Warning Zone brings down curtain on Hollywood meet with Sunset win

Tag : Curtain

by Bob Ehalt
No one will have a harder time saying goodbye to Hollywood Parkthan John Sadler.
Having wrapped up the training title with 30 winners at the 60-daymeet, Sadler added an exclamation point to his stellar run bysending out Warning Zone to capture the $150,000 Sunset Handicap(G2) Sunday on the final day of the Inglewood, California,track’s spring-summer meet.
“It’s been extremely gratifying,” said the51-year-old Sadler, who claimed his first Southern Californiatraining title at Hollywood’s 2007 autumn meet.“It’s all starting to hit me today.”
Warning Zone enjoyed a perfect trip in taking the 1 1/2-mile grassstakes by one length over 1.30-to-1 favorite Cedar Mountain.
Positioned in midpack during the early stages, Warning Zone wasangled to the rail on the final turn by jockey Mike Smith andquickly moved into contention.
Once the tiring pacesetting Boule d’Or (Ire) drifted outslightly in the stretch, Warning Zone took full advantage of hisground-saving trip, surging to the front shortly after the eighthpole.
Cedar Mountain, meanwhile, was forced to tip four wide in earlystretch and was unable to run down Warning Zone, who covered thedistance in 2:26.95 on the firm turf course.
Chilean Group 1 winner Porfido (Chi) was third, a half-lengthbehind Cedar Mountain.
A four-year-old Chester House colt owned by Rising Sun RacingStable, Warning Zone snapped a seven-race losing streak and postedjust his second win since taking the Generous Stakes (G3) inNovember 2006.
Runner-up earlier this year in the San Juan Capistrano InvitationalHandicap (G2) at Santa Anita Park, Warning Zone’s earningsmoved to $341,310 with the $97,200 winner’s share of theSunset purse.
Bred in Virginia by Edward Evans, Warning Zone is out of the StormBird mare Migrate.
For an Equibase chart, click here .
Bob Ehalt is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent