It’s Full Throttle for Full Moon Madness

After not racing in 1999, Full Moon Madness has come back running--and winning--this year.

Full Moon Madness, a 5-year-old gelded son of Half A Year owned by the Ed Corey Family Trust and trained by Bob Marshall, made it six wins in nine starts in 2000, beating Prince Foley and four others in the $109,100 Robert K. Kerlan Memorial Handicap on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

Full Moon Madness, the 2-1 second betting choice in the Kerlan, won for the third time in as many tries going 5 1/2 furlongs over the Hollywood Park turf course at the meet. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Full Moon Madness overtook pacesetter Prince Foleyin the final yards to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:01 2/5.

“I know what Bob Marshall did today,” Desormeaux said after his seventh stakes win of the meet--second among jockeys to Chris McCarron’s 10. “He left a television in the stall so this horse could watch the [Olympic trials]. I mean he ran just like Michael Johnson. This horse put on a hundred-yard sprint and it was over. It was just unbelievable.”

Although Prince Foley was unable to hold off Full Moon Madness after setting 21 2/5 and 43 2/5 splits and having a 2 1/2-length lead with a furlong to run, he did finish 2 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Haafiz. Then came Champ’s Star, Scooter Brown, who was vanned off after the wire with an undisclosed problem, and Paris Dream, the 2-1 favorite.

Horse Racing Notes

Trainer Paco Gonzalez and owners Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan will be busy the final weekend of the Hollywood Park meet, which concludes July 24. The trio will have four horses in four stakes: Spacelink in the $500,000 Swaps Stakes, Bienamado in the $250,000 Sunset Handicap, Kumari Continent in the $150,000 Hollywood Oaks and Bienandanza in the $125,000 Estrapade Stakes. Spacelink, winner of the California Cup Juvenile last fall, is expected to run in the Swaps against Captain Steve, Affirmed winner Tiznow, Dixie Union, Millencolin and Grey Memo. Gonzalez, McCaffery and Toffan will be going for their third victory in the race, having won with Bien Bien in 1992 and Free House five years later. Bienamado. impressive in his first start of the year in the Jim Murray Memorial, will probably be favored in the Sunset, Kumari Continent will meet Queenie Belle, Cash Run and Saudi Poetry in the Oaks while Bienandanza is among five probables for the Estrapade. . . . With six days remaining in the meet, Victor Espinoza holds a 56-45 lead in victories over Corey Nakatani in the jockey standings while Bob Baffert leads Cliff Sise 21-20 in the trainer standings.