$100,000 GUARANTEED LATE PICK 4 POOLS THIS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Last week, Golden Gate Fields track officials announced that the Late Pick 4 pools this Saturday (December 14) and Sunday (December 15) will be guaranteed at $100,000. The Late Pick 4, a popular wager amongst horseplayers nationwide, is a 50-cent minimum bet and goes as the last four races on each race day.
Competitive finishes, good quality events, and healthy field sizes are projected for closing weekend at Golden Gate. On Saturday, the four races (races 9 through 12) that comprise the Late Pick 4 sequence drew 41 horses, equating to just over 10 horses per race.
“We are very much looking forward to our races this week and we sincerely hope our dedicated horseplayers and fans enjoy,” said Golden Gate Fields Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. “We’ve had a strong fall meet, highlighted by much great racing, and we are excited to end our season with a strong finish. Of course, we are very thankful to our loyal customers, all of our horsemen, backside and frontside staff who have worked extremely hard throughout the year, and the TV broadcasters and networks that have shown our product.”
Golden Gate Fields offers an early first post time of 11:45 AM on both Saturday and Sunday. First post on Thursday and Friday remains at 12:45 PM. On Sunday, Golden Gate will have mandatory payouts of the 20 Cent Golden Pick Six jackpot pool, the Rolling Super High Five wager and the Early and Late Pick 5’s.
SATURDAY’S BEAR FAN STAKES ATTRACTS SEVEN CALIFORNIA-BRED FILLIES AND MARES
The $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares goes as Race 10 on a 12-race program this Friday. The six-furlong Tapeta sprint is led by two intriguing Southern California contenders.
Apache Princess is one of two Southern California shippers that is expected to get plenty of support in the wagering. The Keith Desormeaux trainee most recently ran second in the Grade 3 Senator Ken Maddy Stakes sprinting on turf. She also finished second in the Grade 2 San Clemente earlier this year. This will be her career debut on synthetics, and she must overcome the inside post position. William Antongeorgi III rides for the first time.
Lippy, the second Southern California entrant, has appeal as well. The Doug O’Neill conditioned 3-year-old filly makes her first start in eight and a half months, having most recently finished off-the-board going two turns in the Campanile Stakes on Gold Rush Weekend Sunday. Earlier in the year, Lippy ran second in the California Cup Oaks, and as a 2-year-old, she won the Juan Gonzalez Memorial at Pleasanton. Southern California jockey Mario Gutierrez, who rides in 10 Golden Gate races on Saturday, will guide Lippy from the outside post position.
2018 Bear Fan Stakes winner The Spiral Jetter looks to defend her title from post position four. She cuts back from a route to a sprint after two allowance runs going two-turns, one of which resulted in a hard-fought victory in September. Leading fall meet jockey Juan Hernandez retains the mount for trainer Andy Mathis.
Longtime Bay Area conditioner Sergio Ledezma has a strong 1-2 punch for the Bear Fan in Princess Vivien and Vronilla Parfait. Princess Vivien won an allowance race in September and makes her stakes debut in this spot while Vronilla Parfait strolls into the Bear Fan fresh off an allowance victory over Grade 2 placed Tomlin on November 16.
Ima Happy Cat was last seen running third behind Vronilla Parfait and Tomlin in the aforementioned November 16 allowance and returns in this stake for trainer Dan Markle. Ima Happy Cat won the Hastings Stakes at Emerald Downs last June and also was the runner up in the Camilla Urso Stakes on grass earlier this year.
Trina rounds out the field. The Holly Evans trainee broke her maiden two starts ago against open maiden special weight company before finishing second last month in an allowance race.
The Miss America Stakes will be run on closing day Sunday. A separate write-up for the Miss America will be available after entries are released on Thursday.
Race 10 on Saturday: The $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes
#1 Apache Princess (Jockey William Antongeorgi III, Keith Desormeaux)
#2 Princess Vivian (Catalino Martinez, Sergio Ledezma)
#3 Trina (Francisco Monroy, Holly Evans)
#4 The Spiral Jetter (Juan Hernandez, Andy Mathis)
#5 Vronilla Parfait (Frank Alvarado, Sergio Ledezma)
#6 Ima Happy Cat (Julien Couton, Dan Markle)
#7 Lippy (Mario Gutierrez, Doug O’Neill)
BETTOR TRIP NICK SHINES IN THE GOLD RUSH STAKES
Golden Nugget Stakes winner Bettor Trip Nick proved last Saturday that routing would not be an issue for him, as the son of Boat Trip went right to the front and never looked back in the one-mile, $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes for 2-year-olds. The Bill Delia trainee now sports a 4 for 5 record with career earnings of $110,180.
“He looked good,” said Delia after the races on Saturday. “He’ll be ready to make his next start as a 3-year-old in 2020.”
Although Bettor Trip Nick’s next start is yet to be determined, Delia indicated that the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby for 3-year-olds in February is a potential long-term goal. The El Camino Real Derby not only offers 10 Kentucky Derby points to the winner, but a free Preakness berth to whoever wins the Grade 3, $200,000 mile and an eighth contest.
ANNEAU D’OR PUTS UP ANOTHER RESPECTABLE EFFORT `
2019 Breeders Cup Juvenile runner-up Anneau D’Or, who is homed and trained at Golden Gate Fields by trainer Blaine Wright, finished second in last Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,00 Los Alamitos Futurity in Southern California. The winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity, Thousand Words, is a $1,000,000 sale purchase trained by Bob Baffert.
“He ran well,” said Wright. “He came out of the race healthy. He’s proven he fits with top 2-year-olds. He’s a nice horse.”
Anneau D’Or will freshen up and train at Golden Gate Fields before Wright and owner Peter Redekop decide his next target. Anneau D’Or has 1 win from 3 starts, with 2-second place finishes and career earnings of $399,000. His only career victory came at Golden Gate in a two-turn, maiden special weight on September 29. Since the aforementioned maiden score, 6 of the 9 rivals he faced that day have come back to win.
FINISH LINES: With four more live race days at the Golden Gate Fields fall meet, it would take a miracle for Juan Hernandez to finish second or lower in the jockey standings; the 27-year-old journeyman holds an 18-win lead (50 wins) over veteran Frank Alvarado (32). Catalino Martinez has posted 28 wins this meet and sits in third while Silvio Amador is one-behind Martinez. William Antongeorgi III rounds out the top 5 placings with 25 trips to the winner’s circle…Jonathan Wong has the most wins out of any trainer at the current meeting with 24 victories. Isidro Tamayo is five wins behind in second and looks like the main danger to dethrone Wong, who has won the past 5 training titles. Bill Delia has won at a strong clip (28%) this meet as has Reid France (29%), who are third and fourth, respectively, in the standings. Three conditioners (Andy Mathis, Steve Sherman, and Blaine Wright) are tied for fifth in the trainer standings with 10 wins apiece…$18,086 is the 20 Cent Golden Pick Six Jackpot carryover amount heading into Thursday’s program. The Pick Six Jackpot Wager is one of four wagers that will have mandatory payouts on Sunday…Happy birthday to trainers Jose Bautista, Roddina Barrett, Holly Evans and Tim McCanna, all who celebrate birthdays within the next couple of weeks…Have a great holiday break! We will see you back for the Winter/Spring meet on Opening Day Thursday, December 26!