WRIGHT SENDS OUT ANOTHERTWISTAFATE, ANYPORTINASTORM AT SUNLAND ON SUNDAY
This Sunday, March 24, trainer Blaine Wright runs a pair of stakes caliber colts at Sunland Park in New Mexico: El Camino Real Derby winner Anothertwistafate and Zia Park Sprint champion Anyportinastorm. Anothertwistafate races in the Grade 3 $800,000 Sunland Derby going a mile and an eighth while Anyportinastorm sprints six and a half furlongs in the $100,000 Bill Thomas Memorial for older one-turn horses. Both colts are owned by Peter Redekop and were purchased by Redekop’s racing manager and bloodstock agent Alistair Rhoden.
“Both horses shipped into Sunland today and traveled well,” reported Wright. “They’re in their stalls happy and healthy.”
Many eyes will be glued to Anothertwistafate, who wowed racing fans all over the country with a 7 length, dominant victory in the El Camino Real Derby on February 16. Anothertwistafate earned 10 Kentucky Points for his El Camino’ victory and seeks to earn additional points in the Sunland Derby, which offers 50 points to the winner, 20 to the second place finisher, 10 to the equine who crosses the wire third and 5 to whomever runs fourth.
“[Anothertwistafate] is doing well,” said Wright. “We’ve weighed him every week since the El Camino Real Derby and he’s actually gained some weight since that race. His works have been solid and he continues to do things the right way.”
“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” continued Wright, when asked about what it was like for him to have a horse on the Kentucky Derby trail. “We’ve been taking it race by race. Right now we are solely focused on giving [Anothertwistafate] every chance to run his very best at Sunland. We’ll learn a lot about him in this race.”
Anothertwistafate is 3-1 on the morning line and drew post position 2 in a field of 10. The rail runner, Mucho Gusto, is the 8-5 morning line favorite. Trained by Bob Baffert, the $625,000 sale purchase ran second in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Derby as a 2-year-old and most recently won the Grade 3 Robert Lewis at Santa Anita on February 2. Joe Talamo rides Mucho Gusto while Juan Hernandez retains the mount on Anothertwistafate.
One race before the Sunland Derby, Anyportinastorm makes his 2019 debut in the Bill Thomas Memorial. Anyportinastorm was last seen defeating Grade 2 winner and Grade 1 placed sprinter Stallwalkin’ Dude in the Zia Park Sprint on Thanksgiving week. Before his first graded stakes victory at Zia Park, Anyportinastorm hit-the-board in 2 stakes races at Golden Gate.
“Anyportinastorm has always been a really nice horse,” reflected Wright. “We were tickled by his effort at Zia; he ran a great race. After he won [the Zia Park Sprint], there weren’t many races for him to run in so we decided to give him 30 days off. He’s worked well for his comeback and we’re really excited to see what he can do this year.”
Wright indicated that a start in the 2019 Lost in the Fog Stakes was a possibility if Anyportinastorm remained on a regular schedule after Sunday’s Bill Thomas Memorial. The Lost in the Fog, slated for Saturday, April 27, is part of the inaugural Gold Rush Weekend, which features a half dozen stakes events on Saturday and a duo of California-bred stakes the following afternoon.
GOOD QUALITY RACES HIGHLIGHT THIS WEEK’S RACING FESTIVITIES AT GOLDEN GATE
A number of high quality races fill this week of live thoroughbred action, especially on Friday afternoon. Race 5 this Friday, which is Leg E (the last leg) of the Stronach 5 wager, attracts a field of nine allowance sprinters. The morning line favorite is Goren, who was the runner up in an allowance race three weeks ago. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Larry Best’s OXO Equine LLC, the $1.1 million sale purchase beat four horses in the aforementioned allowance that enters right back in this spot. Also slated to compete in Leg E of the Stronach 5 is Manteray Island. The Doug O’Neill trainee broke his maiden at Golden Gate last month and has an impeccable female family. In fact, his third dam is champion racemare Personal Ensign. Before the start of his racing career, he was purchased by John Magnier for a whopping $1.4 million.
Race 4 on Friday is a salty third level allowance race, with a half dozen older runners set to tussle six furlongs. GGF second level allowance winner Summersimage is the 9-5 morning line favorite, but he faces some awfully good customers that figure to make him work hard if he is to win the race. Among his main competitors is Daddysprize, who makes his 4-year-old debut for trainer Tim McCanna. The son of Scat Daddy was last seen running second in the Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar over the summer. Southern California stakes performers Tough Sunday and Grecian Fire comprise a quarter of the field while Whatwasithinking, an Emerald Downs stakes winner, comes off a layoff and starts his 2019 in this talent-filled race. Stakes placed Sunsett Dragunn rounds out the list of six
Race 7 on Friday is another allowance sprint, this event for 3-year-old fillies. The one to beat appears to be Sneaking Out, who broke her maiden in a California-bred maiden special weight race by over 10 lengths at Del Mar in November and makes her first start since then for Jerry Hollendorfer and owner KMN Racing. Stakes performers Cozze Kid and Stealthediamonds are other major players in the race. Cozze Kid was a 2-length allowance victor on March 1 while Stealthediamonds, also trained by Hollendorfer and owned by KMN Racing, hasn’t raced seen since a third place finish in the Golden Gate Debutante as a 2-year-old last fall.
Saturday’s card is equally as interesting. A pair of allowance events highlights the program and a maiden special weight event for 3-year-old fillies, Race 6, begins the Late Pick 4, with over 175k projected to be bet into that pool on Saturday. Over 200k is projected for the Late Pick 4 on Sunday.
FINISH LINES: A number of Southern California trainers are sending horses from their strings to compete at Golden Gate Fields this week. Among the list of trainers are Richard Baltas, Eoin Harty, Anna Meah, Kristin Mulhall and Doug O’Neill. Southern California jockeys Rafael Bejarano and Flavien Prat are also named on horses while Heriberto Figueroa, Ruben Fuentes and Jorge Velez, all whom have ridden races at GGF for the past 8 racing days, will be back for another week…Happy belated birthday to jockey Franklin Ceballos…Happy birthday to “Billy the Kid”, William Antongeorgi III, who turns one-year-older on Saturday… Coachwhip, a Calumet Farm homebred who began her career at Golden Gate Fields in 2017, will compete on Saturday in the $75,000 New Orleans Ladies Stakes at The Fair Grounds. The Fair Grounds runs a 13 race card on Saturday, highlighted by the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby for 3-year-olds…The Stronach 5 pool is, once again, guaranteed at 100k. The first leg of the wager this week is Race 8 at Laurel Park, with a scheduled post time of 4:43 PM ET/1:43 PM PT.