1987 Hollywood Gold Cup - Ferdinand

When Ferdinand and his stablemate, Judge Angelucci, work together in the mornings, there's usually not much difference in the outcome.
A week ago last Friday, trainer Charlie Whittingham had them out before dawn at Hollywood Park for a mile workout. Judge Angelucci hit the wire just a split second ahead of Ferdinand.
Then last Wednesday, in their final tuneup for Sunday's $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, they reached the wire together, after going five furlongs in a swift :58 1/5.
"That's all we can do," Whittingham said, coming off the track with a knowing wink. "All we have to do now is wait for the bugler."
The two horses might have been dead even Wednesday, and Judge Angelucci might have beaten Ferdinand by 4 3/4 lengths three weeks ago in the Californian, the only time they had run in the same race, but Whittingham knew who the best horse was.
"When they did that five-eighths the other day, Ferdinand could have run past the other horse if he wanted to," Whittingham said Sunday. "He could have beat him by five lengths."
There's no money to be made in the gloamin' at a race track, and Ferdinand seems to know that. The 4-year-old chestnut son of Nijinsky II came alongside the pace-setting Judge Angelucci in 1952998688then put him away with little urging from Bill Shoemaker, rolling to a 1-length victory in the Gold Cup before 43,308 fans.
Two of Ferdinand's five career wins have come in two of the sport's biggest races. He earned $609,400 for his owners, Howard and Elizabeth Keck, by winning the 1986 Kentucky Derby and, just when head waiters were asking what he had done lately, Ferdinand picked up another $275,000 Sunday, lifting his career total to $1.8 million.
"Before the year is over he'll be an important horse," Whittingham said later. "He's already an important horse to me."
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