OAKLAND STAKES DRAWS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHIPPERS AND LOCALS
7 contenders sprint 6 furlongs on Tapeta in the feature race at Golden Gate this week: the $50,000 Oakland Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward. The Oakland is Race 7 on a 9-race program this Saturday and has a scheduled post time of 3:48 PM PT.
The morning line favorite is Oiseau de Guerre, who draws the rail post position for trainer Michael McCarthy. The son of War Front has won three races in a row-all over the Golden Gate Tapeta-and clearly has an affinity for the bayside track’s Tapeta course. He is expected to sit off the pace early and make one run late.
Baja Sur is campaigned by Blaine Wright and faces older horses for the second time in his career. The 3-year-old son of Smiling Tiger was sensational in four races at Emerald Downs to kick off his career but suffered his first career loss in lifetime start #5 last month in the Harris Farm Stakes, finishing three-quarters of a length behind older gelding Fashionably Fast. Baja Sur makes his first afternoon appearance on Tapeta but sports a pair of sharp five-furlong drills over the surface leading up to this race.
Trainer Jesus Ramos saddles a pair of contenders in Quick and Silver and My Friend Emma. The former gelding is a Tapeta specialist, with 16 of his 17 lifetime victories having come over the GGF main track. The latter is Grade 3 placed over the surface; he finished second in the All-American Stakes in 2018.
Another who thrives on Tapeta is the Andy Mathis trained Sigur Ros. The 5-year-old gelding by Gemologist possesses a 4 for 5 record over the course and has won his past two starts by a combined 10 lengths. Jockey Ricky Gonzalez was aboard for both races and retains the mount.
Indian Zip and Smokey Image round out the field. Indian Zip finished a half-length behind Oiseau de Guerre for the win in an October 26 allowance race while Smokey Image ships north for Southern California based trainer Carla Gaines after three straight off the board finishes on dirt.
Race 7 On Saturday: the $50,000 Golden Gate Debutante
#1 Oiseau de Guerre (2-1 morning line: Jockey Julien Couton, Trainer Michael McCarthy)
#2 Baja Sur (5-2: Juan Hernandez, Blaine Wright)
#3 Smokey Image (12:1: Catalino Martinez, Carla Gaines)
#4 Quick and Silver (8-1: Silvio Amador, Jesus Ramos)
#5 Sigur Ros (7-2: Ricky Gonzalez, Andy Mathis)
#6 Indian Zip (8-1: Frank Alvarado, Jack Steiner)
#7 My Friend Emma (6-1: Francisco Monroy, Jesus Ramos)
2018 GOLDEN GATE DEBUTANTE WINNER TOMLIN RETURNS IN SATURDAY ALLOWANCE
Stakes winner Tomlin returned to her home base of Golden Gate Fields over the summer after a Midwest/East Coast campaign throughout the spring. This Saturday, she makes her first start off a five-month layoff for trainer Steve Specht.
Tomlin is entered in Race 5: an allowance sprint on Tapeta for fillies and mares three-years-old and upward. She drew post position six, with leading fall meet rider Frank Alvarado set to ride, and is listed at 8-5 on the morning line. Also entered in the race is synthetic specialist Left Alone (3-1 on the morning line), stakes winners Shasta Star (7-2) and Ima Happy Cat (6-1), stakes-placed mare Vronilla Parfait (4-1) and veteran Spring Heat (15-1). Post time for the fifth race on Saturday is 2:48 PM PT.
Tomlin began her career in the Specht barn, breaking her maiden in August of 2018 at Santa Rosa before winning a pair of sprint races in the fall of that year at Golden Gate: a first-level allowance for 2-year-old fillies and the Golden Gate Debutante. After the ‘Debutante victory, Tomlin was ambitiously placed in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita. She did not disgrace herself or her connections, though, finishing third behind next out Grade I winner Bellafina.
After an off the board finish going two turns against stiff Grade I competition, Tomlin was moved to the stable of Donnie Von Hemel, where she ran third in the Purple Martini Stakes at Oaklawn Park in March. After the aforesaid run, she was transferred to a new trainer once more, this time to well-regarded horseman Mike Stidham. In two starts for Team Stidham, Tomlin ran third in the Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico (behind eventual Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Covfefe), and sixth in the Alma North Stakes going 7 furlongs at Laurel Park.
Tomlin is 2 for 3 on the Golden Gate Tapeta. She has 7 published workouts leading up to this race, including a six-furlong drill on November 2 and a bullet five-furlong breeze out of the gate in 1:00.40 seconds.
FRIDAY’S STRONACH 5 CARRYOVER OF 91K FEATURES GOLDEN GATE’S THIRD RACE
$91,081 has been carried over into this week’s Stronach 5 wager, a Pick 5 sequence featuring all Stronach Group-owned tracks. The Stronach 5 is an industry low, 12% takeout wager and a $1 minimum bet.
Leg D (the second to last leg) goes as the third race at Golden Gate: a $12,500 claimer for 3-year-olds and upward routing one mile on the Tapeta. A competitive field of 9 are slated to compete in Leg D, with Van Cortlandt tabbed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite by GGF morning-line maker Steve Martinelli.
Below is the sequence and post times for the Stronach 5 wager this week:
Leg A: 6th race at Gulfstream Park (11 entries, seven & ½ furlongs on turf) 12:51 PM PT
Leg B: 8th race at Laurel Park (8 entries, one mile on dirt) 1:10 PM PT
Leg C: 9th race at Laurel Park (10 entries, one mile on dirt) 1:40 PM PT
Leg D: 3rd race at Golden Gate Fields (9 entries, one mile on Tapeta) 1:48 PM PT
Leg E: 8th race at Gulfstream Park (11 entries, one mile and a sixteenth on turf) 1:54 PM PT
For the Stronach 5, if a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.
FINISH LINES: Trainer Bill Delia reports that Golden Nugget Stakes winner Bettor Trip Nick was in terrific shape just four days after the aforementioned gelding’s gate-to-wire victory. “He came out of the race looking like a million bucks,” said Delia. “Right now, I would like to keep him at one turn”…Good luck to jockey Kyle Frey, who ships his tack to Parx Racecourse in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. After Monday’s live race card, Frey was sixth in the GGF jockey standings with 11 wins…In other jockey news, journeyman Silvio Amador will now be represented by agent Fernando “Shoes” Navarro…In the fourth race on Saturday, six fillies and mares sprint five furlongs on turf in a maiden special weight. #2 Madame Overserved is a first-time starter and royally bred, by top stallion Curlin and out of multiple Grade 2 winning mare Foxysox. Madame Overserved is a full sibling to minor stakes winner Curlin’s Fox. Reid France trains the 3-year-old chestnut filly…Happy birthday to Golden Gate Fields General Manager and Vice President David Duggan, who turns a year older on Monday!