Glitzy Field Bows to Pico Central

Pico Central, a turf-racing standout in Brazil, has become a dirt phenomenon in California and New York. Ridden by Alex Solis, the 5-year-old Hollywood Park-based horse overtook favored Strong Hope in the stretch at Belmont Park on Monday, winning the $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap before 17,066.

On a rainy day, the track was damp but fast, and Pico Central, carrying 119 pounds as the co-high weight, completed the mile in 1:35 2/5 for his fourth win in as many tries in the U.S. His first victory came via a disqualification at Santa Anita.

Trained by Paulo Lobo for owner Gary Tanaka, Pico Central won by three-quarters of a length and paid $8.90. Bowman’s Band, a longshot, finished second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Strong Hope. The high-profile runners in the nine-horse field were not factors as Funny Cide, last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, finished fifth, and Azeri, the 2002 horse of the year running against males for the first time, was eighth.

“This horse is not a miler,” said Barclay Tagg, who trains Funny Cide. “People keep telling me he’s a miler, but he’s not and this race proves it.”

Funny Cide has won two of eight starts -- and only one stake -- since he won the Preakness.

Pat Day, who rode Azeri for the first time, said: “My horse gave me no punch at anytime,”

Before the Met Mile, Lobo watched on TV as his Quero Quero finished third in the four-horse Gamely Handicap at Hollywood Park.

“My horse was in hand most of the way,” said Solis, who rode Pico Central for the first time when he won the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct in April. “At the eighth pole, I got down on him and he went right on.”

Pico Central, a son of 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend A Buck, is not eligible for the Breeders’ Cup at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30. Tanaka said he would consider supplementing him for either the Sprint or the Mile, which is a grass race.