The California Flash

By Dani Pugh, of Horsin' Around

Watch out turf sprinters of California: the silver streak of lightning California Flag is back and is more polished than ever before.  Going into the August  18 Green Flash at Del Mar, the connections of  California Flag made it well know that they were not expecting a win from their flashy silver bullet.



Breaking from the gate California Flag, known for his blazing early speed, was taken back into fourth place, shaking up the entire making of the race. Turning for home Mike Smith decided to shake the six year old up, and shake him up he did. California Flag dug down and produce a late kick that closed ever so steadily on Quick Enough and was just enough to hold of Summer Slew as the trio flashed under the wire.



The final time for five furlongs over the firm turf was a scorching 55.58 seconds. What made the victory even more impressive was that it was the grey gelding's first start in nearly five months, his most recent having been the Al Quoz Sprint, in Dubai, where California Flag represented America with a third place finish.



With the victory has announced loud and clear he is not ready to hang up his cape quite yet and that any young guns willing to face him will have a fight on their hands to take the crown he so proudly wears as the best turf sprinter in America.