ANTONGEORGI'S CHANCE TO SHINE

Jockeys pounce on chance to shine..

By TIM SCOTT/Times-Herald sports editor

Article Launched: 07/13/2008 08:03:21 AM PDT

..With Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze absent from Saturday's slate of horse racing at the Solano County Fair, opportunities abounded for other riders to shine.
And into the spotlight stepped Alex Bisono and William Antongeorgi III.
Bisono tied his career best day with four victories, a feat he once pulled off at Bay Meadows. And Antongeorgi notched back-to-back wins in the 10th and 11th races, beginning with the 45th running of the Solano County Juvenile Stakes.
Baze, meanwhile, didn't exactly take the day off. He hopped a jet to Calder Race Course in Florida for a day dubbed the Summit of Speed, winning two races there.
But without him in Vallejo - he had won three races each on Thursday and Friday - the day took on a different, Baze-less, feel. Antongeorgi was one who took advantage.
The last time out for the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Babs Moossa, Baze rode the black and brown gelding to a victory. Saturday, it was Antongeorgi's turn in the featured No. 10 stakes race that might be best remembered for a spill down the homestretch.
Favored Cross Fire dueled with Frumious through a very fast early pace, but with no warning Cross Fire pulled sharply into the rail and flipped jockey David Lopez into the infield. Loose in the infield while the race finished, Cross Fire suffered cuts to his leg and shoulder; Lopez remained down in the infield for some time, but walked off under his own power and was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be no serious injuries.
That cleared the way for Babs Moossa and Antongeorgi, who were stuck in traffic for much of the race, but were there to pick up the pieces after the incident along the rail.
Asked if it was good to get the opportunity with Baze gone, Antongeorgi replied: "Definitely."
"I just want to thank Jerry for putting me up on the horse," Antongeorgi said. "She ran real good. She broke good. I saw the two leaders up there ... they were setting some pretty good fractions.
"Then the horse jumped the rail and, luckily, we stayed out of trouble and everything. ... And we got 'em."
Aboard Crouching Dragon in the 11th, Antongeorgi rode another winner, spoiling what would've been a career day for Bisono by just nipping Bisono and Go Cardinal Gal at the finish line.
"Oh yeah, it always nice to win a couple," Antongeorgi said. "It's always nice to leave the jock's room with a couple wins under your belt."
It was still a big day for Bisono, who had never before won in Vallejo but got going early - with wins in the fourth, aboard Sexy Soldier, and fifth, on Stanford Dolly. In the seventh, Bisono and Pull Away did just that, outclassing the field down the stretch. And, because of the spill with Lopez in the 10th race, Bisono filled in and picked up a win in the final 12th race of the day.
"I knew going into today that I was aboard some live horses," Bisono said. "I just got lucky, they ran very well today."
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have North America's all-time winningest jockey spending the day in Florida.
"Well, Russell has been the king here forever. He's got the pick of mounts, so it's always tough when he's here," Antongeorgi said. "But, you know, you do the best you can. But it definitely opens doors when he's gone."
Said Bisono: "Once he's gone, the mounts become open. It helps the whole room out."