Berkeley, Calif. (December 8, 2018)- A stakes triple-header on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields resulted in thrilling finishes and competitive racing.
The Miss America Stakes, a $50,00 route event for fillies and mares, saw 18 entrants in the entry box on Wednesday morning, and the race was split into two divisions. The Miss America Stakes, for fillies and mare’s three-years-old and upward going a mile and a sixteenth, was originally scheduled for the turf but was moved to the main track after heavy rain hit the Bay Area earlier in the week. Nonetheless, there was only one scratch in the race, that being 6-5 morning line favorite Sweet Charity in the first division.
In the aforementioned first division, Southern California shipper Lynne’s Legacy rolled from last to first to win the eight and a half furlong contest for trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Alonso Quinonez. O’Neill and owners Maureen Richardson, Ritchie Robershaw and Steve Rothblum claimed Lynne’s Legacy out of her most recent afternoon appearance, an allowance optional claimer at Del Mar, in which Lynne’s Legacy was in for a $40,000 tag. Lynne’s Legacy picked up her first stakes victory with the Miss America Stakes triumph.
In the second division of the Miss America, 5-year-old Washington-bred mare Pyscho Sister took the field gate to wire after taking advantage of a slow pace early on in the race. Owner Scott Herbertson and trainer Ari Herbertson, who have tag-teamed as a father-son, owner-trainer combo for the past couple of years, announced after the race that Pyscho Sister would be retired and bred in 2019. Leading rider William Antongeorgi III rode the daughter of Freud to victory in her final career race.
The final stakes event of the afternoon was the $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes for California bred or sired fillies and mares three-years-old and upward. In a three-way driving finish, The Spiral Jetter rallied from well off the pace to score at 8-1 for trainer Andy Mathis and jockey Julien Couton. The grey daughter of Don’tsellmeshort was making her stakes debut in the Bear Fan, a six furlong contest on Tapeta.
Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon, closing day of the 2018 Fall Meet. Golden Gate has an early first post of 11:45 AM on Sunday, with a 12-race program and mandatory payouts in the Golden Pick Six, the Rolling Super High Five and the Pick 5 and Pick 4 wagers. The Golden Pick Six jackpot pool has climbed to almost $59,916 heading into Sunday and track officials are expecting at least $300,000 new money added into that pool on closing day.
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