ECLIPSE AWARD WINNER ROMAN JOINS JOCKEY COLONY WITH AN UPBEAT ATTITUDE
Eclipse Award-winning jockey Evin Roman joins the Golden Gate Fields riding colony this week and begins his Northern California tenure on Thursday in Race 6 with three-year-old colt Take Me for a Spin. Roman is scheduled to ride five additional mounts on Friday and two more on Saturday. The 22-year-old native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico will be represented by agent Leo Rodriguez and noted earlier in the week that he is eager to begin riding in races.
“I’m really excited to be at Golden Gate,” said Roman. “Jonathan Wong called me and said he would help me out if I moved to Golden Gate Fields. There were a few other trainers from [the Bay Area] that I got to know over time, like Bill McLean and Tim McCanna, and they said they would give me a chance too. I thought it was a really good opportunity to come up to Northern California. I am prepared to work hard and do my best.”
Roman became hooked on racing through his father, who took the young Roman to horse races from an early age. When he was old enough, Roman enrolled in the Escuela Vocacional Hipica, a world-renowned jockey school in Puerto Rico. The list of successful graduates from the aforementioned riding academy is both lengthy and impressive. Among the notables: Manny Franco, Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose Ortiz and John Velazquez.
After two years at Escuela Vocacional Hipica, Roman won his first race in Puerto Rico on January 5, 2017, and soon moved to the United States where he began his stateside riding career in Southern California. As an apprentice in 2017, Roman guided 161 horses to victory while earning $5 million in purse money. He won the 2017 Fall Meet riding title at Santa Anita Park and successful defended the title at the 2018 Winter/Spring meet, defeating Flavien Prat by one win.
Roman tallied his first graded stakes victory aboard Gold Rush Dancer in the 2017 Longacres Mile, Washington state’s most prestigious horse race, and competed in the 2017 Breeders Cup at Del Mar-a career highlight that Roman mentioned was special to him. To put the cherry on top of an outstanding first year, Roman was awarded the 2017 Eclipse Award for top North American apprentice jockey.
Roman has visited Golden Gate Fields from his previous Southern California base multiple times. In February of 2019, he finished second with Kingly in the El Camino Real Derby for trainer Bob Baffert. Roman and Baffert also teamed up to score in the 2018, $200,000 Golden State Juvenile at Santa Anita with California-bred Cruel Intention.
MATHIS READY FOR A BIG SATURDAY WITH MIKES TIZNOW, GIVE ME THE LUTE
On Saturday afternoon, Andy Mathis campaigns a pair of his stable stars in two separate turf sprints at two different racetracks.
On Saturday at Del Mar, Mathis sends out 5-year-old gelding Mikes Tiznow in Race 3, the five-furlong $100,000 Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap. The son of Slew’s Tiznow has won the Albany Stakes at Golden Gate twice in a row, most recently finishing first in the 2020 addition by three-quarters of a length. Mikes Tiznow holds a phenomenal record while sprinting five furlongs on turf, posting 4 wins and 1 third place finish from 5 career starts at the aforesaid distance. Regular jockey Ricky Gonzalez rides back in the Green Flash.
“He’s doing well,” said Mathis. “He runs well fresh. There’s only one way for him to go; to the lead. He’s very, very fast. We can only run our race. If somebody goes out with him and wants to come along for the ride, so be it. He’s a hard-trying horse and he’ll give his best. I like that [jockey] Ricky [Gonzalez] has been at Del Mar, knows the turf course there, and knows the horse. We have a good post position. They don’t give away graded stakes wins, though, so he’ll need to bring his ‘A’ game.”
In Race 8 on Saturday at Golden Gate, Mathis sends out Give Me the Lute in a first-level allowance race. The 4-year-old son of Midnight Lute earned a 96 Beyer speed figure after winning a five-furlong turf dash on June 7 by seven lengths. The final clocking of 55.34 seconds was .09 seconds off the track record set by 4-time stakes winner Vaca City Flyer in 2006.
“I wanted to give him plenty of time to recover after such a big effort last time,” said Mathis. “Since he’s a California-bred, he is eligible to race at the [first level allowance] condition again, so we’re taking advantage of that. He’s doing well and feeling good.”
Give Me the Lute’s easily broke his maiden routing at Del Mar last year. One start later, Mathis and owners Rod and Wendy Hogan claimed Give Me the Lute for $80,000 off of trainer Peter Miller.
“I’ve always thought he might be better routing,” said Mathis. “At some point, you might see him at two turns again.”
A field of nine enter the Race 8, five-furlong Saturday feature, where Give Me the Lute is highly likely to go off favored. Another main contender in the race, Heck Yeah, makes his first start for trainer Steve Sherman and comes off a six-and-a-half-month layoff. Previously in Southern California with Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the California-bred 5-year-old by Acclamation sports a 4 for 8 lifetime record with career earnings of $310,333. He is a three-time California-bred stakes winner and has won on duel surfaces dirt and turf.
ANOTHERTWISTAFATE NEARS RETURN
2019 El Camino Real Derby winner Anothertwistafate continued his preparation for a return to the races with a razor-sharp 1:10 and 2/5 seconds six-furlong drill on Sunday.
Under jockey Kevin Orozco, Anothertwistafate clicked off fractional times of 12 and 1/5 seconds, 24 and 1/5, 35 and 3/5, 47 and 2/5 and 58 and 3/5 before finishing up the exercise in 1:10 and 2/5’ths and galloping out 7 furlongs in 1:23 flat.
“He’s as good as ever,” said Orozco. “He just floated over the ground. It’s amazing because it doesn’t feel like he’s going as fast as he is. He has a very high cruising speed. He’s a really, really good horse.”
The workout was completed 30 minutes before first post on Sunday afternoon and was filmed and shown on the live track feed by the Golden Gate Fields TV crew. For a replay of the video, click the following link: https://www.facebook.com/BlaineDWrightRacing/videos/300698417867975
Anothertwistafate is listed as “possible” to make his 2020 debut in the $100,000 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs on Sunday, September 13.
DEL MAR WATCH LIST
Below is the “Northern California Watchlist” for horses and trainers racing at Del Mar this week:
Friday
Race 1: #4 Hurley (Trainer Blaine Wright, Jockey Ricky Gonzalez)
Race 2: #7 Drippin Sauce (Jonathan Wong, Abel Cedillo)
Race 2: #8 Eustace (Ed Moger Jr., Juan Hernandez)
Race 3: #1 Builder (Isidro Tamayo, Juan Hernandez)
Race 4: #6 Get ’em Tiger (Quinn Howey, Aaron Gryder)
Race 5: #5 Govenor’s Party (Daniel Franko, Assael Espinoza)
Race 6: #3 Punaluu (Isidro Tamayo, Ricky Gonzalez)
Race 6: #4 Midnight Destiny (Jonathan Wong, Juan Hernandez)
Race 7: #12 Bigfoot City (Tim McCanna, Heriberto Figueroa)
Race 8: #5 Habobanero (Reina Gonzalez, Eswan Flores)
Race 9: #3 Mother of Dragons (Andreas Psarras, Ricky Gonzalez)
Race 9: #7 Mucho Amor (Blaine Wright, Juan Hernandez)
Race 10: #5 Kiss of Congrats (Rene Amescua, Heriberto Figueroa)
Saturday
Race 1: #5 Shanghai Groove (Trainer Bill McLean, Tiago Pereira)
Race 2: #4 Loud Loud Music (Steve Miyadi, Tiago Pereira)
Race 3: #3 Baja Sur (Blaine Wright, Juan Hernandez)
Race 3: #8 Mikes Tiznow (Andy Mathis, Ricky Gonzalez)
Race 6: #11 Ju Ju Guy (Rene Amescua, Ruben Fuentes)
Race 8: #2 Respect the Hustle (Bill McLean, Ricky Gonzalez)
Race 11: #13 Navy Armed Guard (Quinn Howey, Jose Valdivia Jr.)
Sunday
Entries are set to be taken on Thursday.
CLAIMS
Below are all the claims made last week at Golden Gate:
Thursday
Race 3: Fruitfully (Trainer Daniel Franko, Owner Bryan M. Carney)
Race 5: Shari (Isidro Tamayo, Zach Morgan and John Tipton)
Race 7: Going to Shabooms (Tim Bellasis, O’Gorman, O’Gorman, Tschanz and Bellasis)
Friday and Saturday
None
Sunday
Race 1: Cats Blame (Victor Trujillo, Carrol Stubbs)
My Lucky Mark (Jonathan Wong, Battle Born Racing Stable)
Race 5: Remember to Smile (Isidro Tamayo, Joel B. Gonzalez)
Race 6: Miss Indefatigable (Blaine Wright, Rollin Donut Stable)
Race 9: Arouse N Go (Owner/trainer Victor Trujillo)
FINISH LINES: Leg E (the last leg) of the $1 Stronach 5 goes as Race 2 on Friday at Golden Gate. The other races in the Stronach 5 sequence on Friday: Laurel Park Race 7 (approximate post of 12:58 PM PT), Gulfstream Park Race 9, Laurel Park Race 8, Laurel Park Race 9…Race 2 on Friday features Chase and Colorado, who is out of the dam Anabaa’s Creation. Here’s a fun fact for you: Anabaa’s Creation lost to the great Zenyatta by A HEAD in the 2009 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar…Jockey Erick Lopez picked up his first win since joining the Golden Gate Fields riding colony with old pro Cartoonist (trained by Mike Lenzini) last Saturday…Laura’s Light races in the Grade I Del Mar Oaks on Saturday at Del Mar. Laura’s Light began her racing career with trainer Jamey Thomas and broke her maiden in November of 2019 at Golden Gate. After the maiden victory, she was privately purchased by owner Gary Barber and has since won three graded stakes races under the care of Southern California conditioner Peter Miller…Happy birthday to Assistant General Manager of GGF William Rizzuto and trainers Andy Mathis and D. Wayne Baker…Happy belated birthday to trainer Marcia Stortz…$14,676 is carried over into the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager heading into Thursday.