MATHIS HOLDS A STRONG HAND OF TURF HORSES HEADING INTO THE SUMMER
Not surprisingly, trainer Andy Mathis was all smiles after a stellar 48 hours at Golden Gate Fields last weekend. From 5 starters throughout Saturday and Sunday, Mathis won with 4 of those entrants. 3 of the 4 aforementioned winners won turf sprints and are likely set to stay on grass for the foreseeable future while also probable to face tougher company in the coming months.
On Saturday, Mathis won a trio of races including the headliner on the day, the $50,000 Albany Stakes for turf sprinters, with Mikes Tiznow. Mikes Tiznow, a son of Slew’s Tiznow who had not made an afternoon appearance since a victory in the 2019 Albany, zipped to the front from post position 7 and stayed on the lead throughout, completing the 5-furlong grass dash in 56.26 seconds. Mikes Tiznow earned a 93 Beyer speed figure for his effort.
“He broke his maiden off a similar layoff, so I wasn’t surprised that he was able to run well fresh,” said Mathis. “He came out of the race well. We’re going to monitor his progress in the coming weeks and see where we go from there. Nothing is set and stone. He’s run through his conditions and he’s a very fast horse that enjoys turf and the 5-furlong distance. We’re going to give him time to recover from this race and when we think he’s ready to go again, we’ll find a spot for him.”
Earlier on the day, Mathis won with lower-level claimer Fair Challenge. The nightcap on Saturday, Race 11, was won by the Mathis conditioned Nardini, a California-bred filly who defeated first-level allowance company sprinting five furlongs on the lawn.
“[Nardini] has a really strong closing kick,” said Mathis. “I told [jockey] Juan [Hernandez] in the paddock, ‘Don’t let her do too much until the final quarter-mile.’ I think she is at her best when she can make that one strong run [down the stretch.]”
“The thing that I was most impressed about with [Nardini] was that she was the only one closing,” continued Mathis. “I give horses extra credit when they are the only ones making up ground and they are able to run down speed horses and finish like she did. There were plenty of speed horses that weren’t really stopping and she was still able to run past them all. I bet [Nardini’s] final quarter-mile time was very fast.”
Less than 24 hours after Nardini’s strong showing, 4-year-old gelding Give Me the Lute won a first-level allowance-in another 5-furlong turf affair-against colts and geldings for Mathis. Give Me the Lute, who stopped the clock in 55.34 seconds and was .09 seconds off the turf track record for the aforementioned distance, earned an eye-popping 100 Beyer for his performance. Give Me the Lute was claimed for $80,000 by Mathis and owners Wendy and Rod Hogan at Del Mar last summer.
“I am still in shock with how [Give Me the Lute] ran,” said Mathis. “I knew he was a good horse and was confident he could win, but I didn’t expect him to win like that. If you look at his past performances, it looks like he might be better going two turns. I’m still convinced, even after his race on Sunday, that he could be best going a route. If this is a sign of races to come from him, we’re going to have some fun with him.”
“One thing that’s good about Give Me the Lute is that he’s still got plenty of [allowance] conditions,” concluded Mathis. “Part of the reason I claimed him was because he looked like a really nice horse that had a lot of options. He is a California-bred, so he can run in a first-level [allowance] again. He is obviously eligible for all of the California-bred stakes. The way he ran last week, he very well could be a bigger, faster, and stronger horse than he was last year. One thing’s for sure…I’m keeping him on turf!”
ALCATRAZ STAKES ATTRACTS EIGHT TALENTED SOPHOMORES
Eight runners are set to go postward in the feature race on Saturday afternoon, the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes for 3-year-olds. The one-mile turf contest goes as Race 7 on an 11-race card that begins at 12:15 PM PT. 99 horses entered into 11 races on Saturday, equating to a 9-horse per race average.
Golden Gate Fields leading jockey Juan Hernandez has the call on Southern California entrant Kanderel, a well-bred colt by Candy Ride out of the Golden Gate Fields stakes winner Stormica. The Richard Mandella trainee broke his maiden by daylight in the career debut as a 2-year-old but has failed to hit the board in four starts since then. Two of those four races came against stakes caliber talent at Santa Anita.
The other Southern California entrant, Zimba Warrior, draws the rail for brothers Kent and Keith Desormeaux. The son of second crop stallion Khozan makes his career debut on grass but has raced two turns before; over the winter, he ran third behind the Bob Baffert trained Authentic in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on dirt.
A local who could very well go off as the favorite, Indian Peak, picks up the services of jockey David C. Lopez for the first time. The Dr. and Mrs. William T. Gray homebred has run once against stakes company, with the lone run resulting in a third-place finish behind Azul Coast in the El Camino Real Derby. Most recently, the son of Comic Strip finished a better than looked second on the turf at Santa Anita behind the well-regarded California-bred Margot’s Boy in an allowance race.
A solid pace is projected for the 2020 Alcatraz, with a number of quick horses entered in the lineup. Stretch out sprinter Darnquick makes his second start off a layoff after a poor effort against older foes last month and figures to be a pace presence. Governance, from the leading barn of Jonathan Wong, comes off a gate-to-wire score against allowance company on May 30. The front runner with the most impressive credentials, however, may be the Bill Delia trained Bettor Trip Nick. A son of turf sprinter Boat Trip, the California-bred speedster makes his career debut on the grass and has shown an affinity for the Tapeta in past races. As a 2-year-old, Bettor Trip Nick won the Golden Nugget Stakes sprinting and returned one month later to win the Gold Rush Stakes routing.
Ajourneytofreedom, trained by Blaine Wright, is an intriguing item. The half-sibling to 2019 El Camino Real Derby winner Anothertwistafate is out of a mare whose older sister, Nebraska Tornado, won the Group 1 French Oaks in 2003. Ajourneyofreedom’s second dam, Media Nox, won the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes on turf at Santa Anita in 1997. With the family lineage in mind, it would make sense if Ajourneytofreedom flourished on turf. The son of Hard Spun was last seen routing on March 7 over the main track Tapeta and beat a solid group of 3-year-olds that day.
Mylittlerunaway rounds out the field. A filly facing boys for the first time, the daughter of Run Away and Hide comes off a runaway victory against starter allowance foes three weeks ago. That day, she won the one-mile turf race by 5 lengths. Trainer O.J Jauregui teams up with apprentice Juan Espinoza, who makes his stakes debut as a jockey in the Alcatraz.
Race 7: $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes (3-year-olds and upward, one mile on the turf)
#1 Zimba Warrior (Jockey Kent Desormeaux, Trainer Keith Desormeaux)
#2 Mylittlerunaway (Juan Espinoza, O J Jauregui)
#3 Ajourneytofreedom (Ricky Gonzalez, Blaine Wright)
#4 Bettor Trip Nick (Catalino Martinez, Bill Delia)
#5 Kandarel (Juan Hernandez, Richard Mandella)
#6 Darnquick (Hugo Herrera, Allen Rogers)
#7 Indian Peak (D.C. Lopez, Quinn Howey)
#8 Governance (William Antongeorgi III, Jonathan Wong)
GRADE 3 $250,000 SAN FRANCISCO MILE THE MARQUEE RACE ON CLOSING DAY
A trio of locals and a number of Southern California shippers figure to be competitive in the marquee race of the Winter/Spring Meet at Golden Fields: the $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf for 3-year-olds and upward.
The top three finishers in last month’s Grade 3 All American Stakes, Restrainedvengence, Kiwi’s Dream and Camino Del Paraiso, all enter back into the San Francisco Mile. Although the All American was run on Tapeta, all three aforementioned ‘Mile contenders have raced on turf in past starts.
Restrainedvengence, who earned a strong 103 Beyer speed figure in the All American, was victorious in the Rolling Green Stakes over this turf course last year and, with that in mind, can clearly be competitive on grass. Trained by Southern California conditioner Val Brinkerhoff, the 5-year-old gelding worked a blistering bullet half-mile drill in 46 seconds on Sunday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for this race. Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux was aboard for the All American Stakes victory and retains the mount.
Kiwi’s Dream, who ran the race of his life while finishing a neck behind Restrainedvengence in the All American, gets back to turf for trainer Victor Trujillo. While in the barn of John Martin in 2018, the Australian bred won an allowance race on grass. Leading Golden Gate jockey Juan Hernandez has the call.
Camino Del Paraiso may have run a career-best race when finishing second to Grade I winner River Boyne in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita in February. One month later, the California-bred son of Suances returned to finish as the runner up again in the Grade 2 San Luis Rey Stakes. Journeyman Catalino Martinez teams up with trainer O.J Jauregui.
Multiple allowance winner Arch Prince is definite to run…and why not? The son of Arch has won three of his past four races. In the lone loss during that four-race span, however, Arch Prince finished second behind Kiwi’s Dream. Arch Prince is trained by Sammy Calvario and will be navigated by jockey Brayan Pena.
One of the likely favorites, Neptunes Storm, races in the San Francisco Mile for Southern California trainer Richard Baltas. The son of Stormy Atlantic makes his second start off a five-month vacation after a 5 length loss in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on May 25. Last year, Neptune’s Storm won the Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park and also hit the board in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. All three aforementioned races came against restricted 3-year-olds. Irving Orozco rides for the first time.
Another Southern California entrant, Majestic Eagle, is also a graded stake winner. Majestic Eagle, who races as gelding for the first time in the San Francisco Mile, won the Grade 3 All American Stakes at Santa Anita in June of 2019 but has lost five straight races, including a 3-length loss in the Thunder Road Stakes to Grade I winner River Boyne and Camino Del Paraiso in February. Southern California jockey Umberto Rispoli flies up to ride for trainer Neil Drysdale, who also campaigns Simply Breathless. A mare facing boys this Sunday, Simply Breathless won the Golden Poppy Stakes in 2019 over this turf course. In her last two starts, she finished off-the-board against Grade I company in Southern California. Ricky Gonzalez rides for the first time.
Last year, trainer Doug O’Neill won the San Francisco Mile with Blitzkrieg. This year, he campaigns Murad Khan, a 7-year-old gelding stretching out from turf sprints to this one-mile route distance. The last year we saw him racing two turns, he was hitting the board while earning respectable speed figures against second-level allowance foes in Southern California. Local jockey Kyle Frey picks up the mount.
The San Francisco Mile goes as Race 8 on an 11-race card that begins at 12:15 PM. Post time for the San Francisco Mile is 3:45 PM PT.
Race 8: $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile (one mile on the turf)
#1 Camino Del Paraiso (jockey Catalino Martinez, trainer O.J. Jauregui)
#2 Arch Prince (Brayan Pena, Sammy Calvario)
#3 Majestic Eagle (Umberto Rispoli, Neil Drysdale)
#4 Murah Khan (Kyle Frey, Doug O’Neill)
#5 Simply Breathless (Ricky Gonzalez, Neil Drysdale)
#6 Kiwi’s Dream (Juan Hernandez, Victor Trujillo)
#7 Neptune’s Storm (Irving Orozco, Richard Baltas)
#8 Restrainedvengence (Kent Desormeaux, Val Brinkerhoff)
GUARANTEED LATE PICK 4 POOL OF $250,000 ON SUNDAY CAPS OFF THE WINTER/SPRING MEET
Closing Day of the Winter/Spring meet this Sunday features mandatory payouts in the 20 cent Golden Pick Six Jackpot wager (the last six races of the day), the $1 Rolling Super High Five wager, and both Pick 5 sequences.
Also on Sunday, Golden Gate Fields offers a $250,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 pool. The Late Pick 4 wager is a 50-cent minimum bet and goes as the last four races on the Sunday program. This Sunday, the Late Pick 4 sequence will be Races 8 through 11.
“We are very excited to be offering a guaranteed pool of a quarter-million dollars in the Late Pick 4 pool on Sunday,” said Golden Gate Fields Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. “It’s our way of saying thank you to all of the bettors who have followed Golden Gate Fields throughout the year.”
The Late Pick 4 is comprised of a quartet of turf races, making the popular wager an “all-turf” sequence. Race 8, the first leg, is the $250,000 San Francisco Mile with a field of 8. Race 9 is a one-mile, 20k claimer for 10 filly and mare routers. Race 10 catches the eye, an allowance route race with 11 entrants signed up to compete, while the nightcap is a claiming race with 10 fillies and mares. All four races are one-mile races. The turf is projected to be firm and the rails all the way in at zero feet.
Post time for Race 8, the first leg of the Late Pick 4, is approximately 3:45 PM.
FINISH LINES: Impressive Golden Gate Fields maiden winner Praise and Honor makes her second lifetime start in the Angel Flight Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters at Santa Anita on Saturday for trainer Jonathan Wong. Abel Cedillo rides for the first time…Congrats to jockey Kyle Frey, who won three races on Sunday’s program including the featured $75,000 Golden Poppy Stakes with Sloane Garden…There is a Rolling Super High Five carryover of $11,735 in the first race on Thursday…The Golden Pick Six jackpot wager was hit last Sunday afternoon and begins anew on Thursday with four more live racing days to go…Happy birthday to Racing Secretary and Director of Racing Patrick Mackey and trainer Greg James, both who celebrate birthdays this week.