Surf Cat is back for seconds in the LeRoy

Surf Cat’s second victory in the $150,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap didn’t come as easily as had his first two years earlier.

Successful by 3 1/2 lengths as the 1-5 favorite in 2006, Surf Cat, the 5-2 second choice Saturday, was up in the final yards under jockey Alex Solis to collar pace-setting longshot Desert Code in the Grade II at Hollywood Park.

A .500 hitter lifetime with nine wins in 18 starts, Surf Cat has been even better in Inglewood. In becoming the first horse to win twice in the LeRoy, the initial prep for the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28, the 6-year-old now has four victories in six local appearances. In his two defeats at Hollywood Park, he has been second.

Trained by Bruce Headley for his wife Aase and Marsha Naify, Surf Cat won by half a length in 1:41.13 for the 1 1/16 miles.

“I thought the race set up perfect for him,” Headley said. “Alex got him to relax and it seems like he runs his best race when he relaxes like that.”

Headley indicated Surf Cat could surface in one of two spots for his next start, and one would involve a trip to New York. Depending on the weights, the dark bay could run in the Metropolitan Handicap on May 26 at Belmont Park or in the Californian five days later at Hollywood Park.

The purse of the Met Mile is $600,000, compared to $250,000 for the Californian. The Belmont race is also a Grade I; the local event is a Grade II.

Desert Code, who was looking for his third win in five starts on the Hollywood Park main track, couldn’t quite last at almost 24-1.

The 13-10 favorite on the strength of a big win at Santa Anita in the Santana Mile on March 8, Monzante failed to threaten, finishing sixth. Jockey Rafael Bejarano, who rode him to the win last month, said the Maria’s Mon gelding simply didn’t like the Hollywood Park surface as much as the one in Arcadia.

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Macho Again, a 6-1 shot, out-finished 5-2 favorite Kodiak Kowboy to win the $115,200 Derby Trial, the main event on the first day of Churchill Downs’ spring-summer meet.

A well-beaten seventh in the Lanes End on the Polytrack last month at Turfway Park, Macho Again, a gray son of Macho Uno, welcomed the return to Louisville. It was his second win in three starts at the track.

Julien Leparoux rode Macho Again to the half-length win for West Point Thoroughbreds LLC and trainer Dallas Stewart.

The final time for the 7 1/2 furlongs was 1:28.45.

The defeat was the first in three starts at Churchill for Kodiak Kowboy.

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Rebounding from a 12th-place finish in the Santa Anita Handicap, Monterey Jazz led throughout under jockey David Flores to easily capture the $300,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park, while Bold Chieftain, another odds-on favorite, won his third in a row, taking the $125,000 Bay Meadows Breeders’ Cup Handicap.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com