Away since May 14 and in only his second career start, Terry Lovingier’s homebred Thirsty John proved too much for six fellow California-breds on Saturday at Santa Anita as he went to the front and took the $200,000 California Cup Derby by a half length under Juan Hernandez.
A springboard to superstardom in 2014 for California Chrome, Saturday’s $200,000 California Cup Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., may also have a star or two in the making as seven California-bred or sired sophomores go a mile and one sixteenth.