ANNEAU D’OR PRE-ENTERED IN BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE RACES
Well regarded Golden Gate Fields 2-year-old Anneau D’Or, whose long career race resulted in an eight length romp routing on turf last month, was pre-entered in both the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf and Breeders Cup Juvenile on dirt for trainer Blaine Wright and owner Peter Redekop.
The Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf, listed as the first preference for Anneau D’Or, oversubscribed with 21 pre-entries. Anneau D’Or was placed sixth on the “also eligible” list by the Breeders Cup committee and is unlikely to see six defections for him to draw into the race.
The Breeders Cup Juvenile Dirt did not oversubscribe, however, and Anneau D’Or is in the main body of the field. That said, Wright indicated Wednesday morning that he was unsure as to whether Anneau D’Or would race in the Juvenile Dirt.
“We probably have less than a 10% chance of getting into the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf, but if we were somehow able to draw into the race, then we would like to run,” said Wright. “We are already in the Breeders Cup Juvenile on dirt and, although not 100% certain as to what we are going to do, at the moment we are leaning towards passing on that race. We can reroute him to another race if we need to.”
Anneau D’Or was purchased by Redekop and bloodstock agent Alistair Roden for a whopping $480,000 as a 2-year-old in training earlier this year. The son of Medaglia D’Oro is out of the Tapit mare Walk Close, who won the Grade 3 Modesty Handicap on turf at Arlington Park in 2015. This is her first foal.
“I always felt Anneau D’Or would be better routing,” said Wright. “[Jockey Juan] Hernandez worked him before his first race and said the same thing-he thought he would be best going two turns. We decided to run him two turns right away and obviously it worked out well. He finished his race strong and I think he got a lot out of it. We always knew he had a lot of raw talent, but the lightbulb really turned on after his first race and his workouts since then have been terrific.”
Wright was especially impressed with his 2-year-old colt’s most recent workout last Saturday morning, a 5 furlong drill timed in 59.60 seconds.
“His breeze last Saturday was one heck of a work. He started out fast and I thought to myself, ‘Let’s see how he finishes. Horses don’t always finish great when they start their works at a high speed over this track.’ But he drew off from his company down the lane, galloped out strong and racked off fast times while doing it. When I got back to the barn, [Anneau D’Or] couldn’t have blown out a candle. He wasn’t even breathing hard. It was a terrific work. We’re excited to see what the future holds for him.”
Wright also gave an update on 2019 El Camino Real Derby winner Anothertwistafate, who hasn’t been seen since an off the board finish in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes last May.
“Anothertwistafate is doing very well,” said Wright. “He is on the farm and very happy there. If all goes to plan, we’ll see him racing in 2020. He’ll be back training at Golden Gate Fields soon.”
PIKE PLACE DANCER BEGINS STAKES ACTION AT 2019 FALL MEET
The first of 9 stakes races at the 2019 Golden Gate Fields fall meet goes this Saturday as Race 7: the $75,000 Pike Place Dancer Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on turf. A field of 6 has been assembled to contest eight furlongs in the Pike Place Dancer, with post time set at 3:45 PM PT.
Among the leading local contenders is Shanghai Keely, coming into the Pike Place Dancer off a 2-month break for young conditioner Ari Herbertson. The daughter of Shanghai Bobby won her career debut at Pleasanton by six and three-quarter lengths before running fourth in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. In the Sorrento, Shanghai Keely finished behind the highly talented filly Amalfi Sunrise and hit the wire ahead of Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 placed Comical. This will be Shanghai Keely’s career debut routing. She also races on grass for the first time.
“I’ve always thought she would be better going a route of ground,” said Herbertson. “She gallops two miles and always gallops the second mile stronger than the first. Her works leading up to this race have been good. She’s got a lovely way of moving and she’s built like a router. We’re coming into the race with a talented filly.”
Another local figuring to get support in the wagering is The Adrie Factor, who takes on winners for the first time. Conditioned by leading Golden Gate trainer Jonathan Wong, the daughter of War Front stallion The Factor raced over grass on September 28 and broke her maiden by open lengths.
“We always thought she would want to run long and her breeding suggested she would be effective on turf,” said Wong. “We had to sprint her in her first two races because there was nowhere else to go. She put it all together routing on the turf last time out and it looks like she will be a two turn filly in the long run. This is a good, next logical spot for her.”
Wong also saddles No Cover Charge, who has won two sprint races to kick off her career. The Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC homebred most recently beat a starter allowance group by a half dozen lengths.
“To be honest, I’m not sure whether she wants to route or not,” said Wong. “We will find out on Saturday. She is training terrific, though. Her last workout was really solid. Since her first race, the lightbulb has really turned on and she has steadily improved.”
Wise Rachel is a daughter of 2007 Breeders Cup turf winner English Channel and, with that in mind, possesses the pedigree to be effective routing on grass. The California-bred filly broke her maiden at Pleasanton in lifetime start number one before hitting the board in the CTBA Stakes at Del Mar.
“Since Day 1, she has shown she has talent,” said Wise Rachel’s trainer, Quinn Howey. “I was not surprised she won sprinting [first time out] because she has a lot of ability. But being by English Channel, the owners and I always felt she would do really well going two turns on the grass. We are going to nominate to the Golden State Juvenile Filllies on Breeders Cup Friday at Santa Anita but I am 90% sure we will keep her in this race. I’m really excited to see how she does on turf.”
Southern California invaders Convoluted and Colombian Gold round out the Pike Place Dancer field. Convoluted, whose lone try on turf resulted in an off the board finish against stakes company at Del Mar over the summer, was last seen running second sprinting in the Phone Chatter Stakes at Los Alamitos. Colombian Gold is a maiden who has yet to hit the board in three career starts.
$75,000 Pike Place Dancer Stakes
1. Shanghai Keely (Trainer Ari Herbertson, Jockey Irving Orozco)
2. No Cover Charge (Jonathan Wong, Julien Couton)
3. Convoluted (Peter Miller, Juan Hernandez)
4. Wise Rachel (Quinn Howey, Alejandro Gomez)
5. Colombian Gold (Andrew Lerner, William Antongeorgi III)
6. The Adrie Factor (Jonathan Wong, Kyle Frey)
JOCKEY BRAYAN PENA JOINS THE GOLDEN GATE RIDING COLONY
Southern California jockey Brayan Pena has relocated to Northern California and will be riding full time at Golden Gate Fields starting this Friday. Agent Brent Harmon will be handling Pena’s book.
“He began working horses here today,” relayed Harmon. “He’s ready to work hard. A few people are already interested in using him and some trainers from Southern California have indicated they want to use him when they send horses this way. Actually, he’s got two mounts from Southern California trainers on Saturday. I think he can do well here for a variety of barns.”
Pena, a native of Guatemala, has worked for top outfits Wesley Ward and John Sadler since beginning his riding career. Pena has ridden 108 career winners and picked up his first career victory as a jockey in 2014.
FINISH LINES: Reina Gonzalez picked up a California-bred maiden special weight win with 2-year-old filly Habobanero last Saturday. Reina pointed out that Habobanero’s sire, Coach Bob, has sired 4 winners from 4 starters, all whom were winners at 2-year-olds. 3 of the 4 wins came against maiden special weight company. Gonzalez co-owns Coach Bob with Jeff Kitchen and Joe Daehling…. Leg D of the Stronach 5 wager goes as Race 3 at Golden Gate Fields on Friday afternoon. Leg A is Race 9 at Laurel Park, with an approximate post time of 1:19 PM PT…Happy birthday to patrol judge Tammy Lynn McDuffie-Morris, who celebrates another birthday on Monday.