BC CLASSIC WINNER SPAGHETTI MOUSE WORTH HIS WEIGHT IN GOLD
Posted: AUGUST 4, 2008
Vancouver, B.C. (Aug. 4/08) – Spaghetti Mouse was assigned the high weight of 125 pounds but the scales leaned in his favour in the 14th running of the $100,000 Redekop BC Cup Classic before an estimated crowd of over 10,000 sun-drenched fans at Hastings Racecourse Monday afternoon.
The largest crowd at Hastings in recent memory cheered Spaghetti Mouse from the parade to the post until his spectacular finish against a charging Texas Wildcatter. With the victory, Spaghetti Mouse earned $66,536 to become the all-time B.C-bred money winner with total career earnings of $812,120, replacing Delta Colleen whose record stood at $810,798.
With Pedro Alvarado in the irons, Spaghetti Mouse gained the lead on the final turn and won by a neck over a charging Texas Wildcatter. Spaghetti Mouse, the 2006 BC Classic winner, finished the 1 1/8 mile test in a final time of 1:50.01.
“He was really game, I actually had to slow him down,” Alvarado said. “I was ready when they started coming at the end.”
Spaghetti Mouse, owned by Nick and Pauline Felicella and trained by Lenore DaPonte, paid $5.10, $2.90 and $2.40. Mrs. Fellicella had asked the band March Hare to tone down the music during the parade to the post for fear it would upset Spaghetti Mouse. In the end, the victory was music to her ears.
With more than $450,000 up for grabs in purse money and seven stakes races on the card, the only notable upset of the afternoon was in the $50,000 Sprint when And All The Jazz surprised the field with Frank Fuentes up, paying $38.60.
El Sinaloense ($2.80) won the Nursey; P.S. Good N Ready ($3.30) won the Debutante; Alpine Garden ($10.30) the Distaff; Remarkable Miss ($2.90) the Dogwood; and Krazy Koffee ($5.00) the Stellar’s Jay.
“We were thrilled with the fact that more than 10,000 were here to enjoy the entertainment and all of the excitement that goes with BC Cup Day,” said Raj Mutti, general manager at Hastings. “Our mutuels handle, all sources, went over $1.4 million. That’s incredible.”
Racing resumes Friday at 2:25 p.m. with regular starting times of 1:25 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
