CORSICAN SCORES IMPRESSIVE MAIDEN WIN FIRST TIME OUT
World renowned actor Will Rogers once said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Last Sunday afternoon at Golden Gate Fields, first time starter Corsican certainly made a favorable impression amongst race watchers, scoring a runaway maiden victory to kick off his career.
Sent off at odds of 8-1 in Race 4, a 5-furlong turf dash for California-bred 2-year-olds, the son of Square Eddie broke sharply from the gate and stalked the pace before pouncing on the early leaders in midstretch. He drew away from his competition in the final sixteenth of a mile and hit the wire 3 and a half lengths clear of second-place finisher Lastbesthope. Corsican was ridden to victory by apprentice Santos Rivera.
Corsican, out of the War Front mare Epistemology, RNA’d as a yearling for $2,000 at the 2019 Fasig Titpon Sale at Santa Anita. He was shortly thereafter purchased by owners D. Wayne Baker and Kate Cabello. Baker, who also trains Corsican, was understandably thrilled with his 2-year-old’s effort on Sunday.
“[Corsican] was training really well leading up to the race,” said Baker. “I worked him with a number of older horses and he outworked them every time. He does everything so easily. He’s a little guy but he can run. I think he can improve off this race, too.”
Baker was noncommittal when naming a potential second start for Corsican but noted that the bay gelding came out of his afternoon debut in great shape.
GONZALEZ WINS WITH TWO “OFF THE CLAIM” ENTRANTS ON SUNDAY
Trainer Reina Gonzalez was all smiles Wednesday morning, days removed from a pair of victories on last Sunday’s 11-race program. Both winners, claimed by Gonzalez earlier in the year, have shown a profit for their current stable.
In Race 5, 7-5 favorite Silent Movies easily defeated starter allowance company in a five and a half furlong main-track sprint. Silent Movies has won a duo of races and earned $25,160 since being claimed by Gonzalez and co-owners Cheryl Doyle and Matthew Gutierrez for $5,000 on March 21.
“The day we claimed [Silent Movies], my owners and I were looking at another horse in the same race,” said Gonzalez. “The horse we had our eye on scratched. One of the owners said to me [after the scratch that morning], ‘Why don’t you take a look at Silent Movies? He looks like a pretty nice sprinter.’ Turns out, he had been sprinting really well on the Tapeta for Jonathan [Wong]. It’s not easy to improve horses whenever you claim them from a top barn but we decided to take a chance. It’s a gamble…but any claim is a gamble.”
30 minutes after Silent Movies took his most recent winners circle photo, Jammers Justice pulled off a 35-1 upset in Race 6, a one-mile starter allowance on turf for Gonzalez, Doyle and Gutierrez. In July, Jammers Justice was claimed for $4,000 by the aforementioned outfit.
When asked why Gonzalez and her crew claimed Jammers Justice, the answer was precise.
“I wanted to try [Jammers Justice] going a route of ground because I thought he traveled like a horse who wanted more distance,” said Gonzalez. “He also has a little turf pedigree, so I thought he might like the grass. I noticed him galloping over the summertime and loved the way he moved. I wanted to place a little bet on him, actually, the race before I claimed him. That day, he got in a lot of trouble and ran third. In his next start, I saw he was in for a $4,000 tag and figured he was worth taking a chance with.”
Gonzalez was not surprised that Jammers Justice scored at a big price last Sunday.
“He worked tremendously well before the race,” said Gonzalez. “He drilled a half mile the other day and galloped out 5 furlongs in a minute and change. And he was just cruising. Last month, he made his first start for us in another starter allowance race. I thought he finished a much better than looked third behind two really nice horses. This [past Sunday’s race] was an easier spot, no doubt.”
The Reina Gonzalez Daily Double, Races 5 and 6, returned $170.80 for a $2 investment. Not bad.
GIVE ME THE LUTE READY TO ROLL IN STAKES DEBUT AT SANTA ANITA
4-year-old gelding Give Me the Lute makes his stakes debut for trainer Andy Mathis and owners Rod and Wendy Hogan in Race 7 on Friday at Santa Anita, the Grade 2 Eddie D. Stakes at 5-and-a-half-furlongs on turf. Give Me the Lute drew post position 2 of 7, with Drayden Van Dyke set to ride, and is 12-1 on Jon White’s morning line.
“[Give Me the Lute] is doing well,” said Mathis. “He’s worked twice since his last start and looked good both times. He’s ready.”
Give Me the Lute was claimed by Mathis and the Hogan family for $80,000 as a 3-year-old in 2019 at Del Mar. That day, he routed and suffered a traffic-filled trip, finishing fourth while probably best.
In two Golden Gate turf sprint this year, Give Me the Lute impressed. On June 7, the son of Boisterous won by 7 widening lengths and sizzled the 5 furlongs in 55 and 1/5 seconds, finishing .02 seconds off the track record. He took two and a half months off after the breathtaking effort and returned on August 22 to defeat allowance foes while zipping through a similarly fast time as his prior start, completing five panels in 56 seconds flat.
“This horse has been on the lead in his past two starts but doesn’t necessarily need the front,” said Mathis. “He obviously has a lot of early speed, but he won’t go super-fast unless you ask him to go super-fast. He’ll put himself in the race because he has natural, tactical speed, but if [Drayden] opts to relax right off a pacesetter, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. He is versatile.”
Mathis does not believe the extra half furlong in the Eddie D. will be an issue.
“He broke his maiden going one mile and won easily that day,” said Mathis. “I’ve always thought he’d be a really nice miler. At some point we might try him at two turns again. For now, we’ll give him a chance in this stake and see what happens.”
$1 GOLDEN HOUR LATE PICK 4 BEGINNING FRIDAY
Beginning on Santa Anita’s Opening Day Friday card, the $1 Golden Hour Late Pick 4 commences for horseplayers throughout North America.
The Golden Hour Late Pick 4 wager, a $1 minimum bet featuring a low 15% takeout, links the last two races from Santa Anita and the last two races from Golden Gate each race day. For example, the first leg of the wager on Friday goes as Race 9 at Santa Anita. Golden Gate’s 8th race is the second leg, followed by Race 10 (the nightcap) at Santa Anita. The 9th race finale at Golden Gate ends Friday’s Northern California race card and the Golden Hour Late Pick 4 bet.
The $5 Golden Hour Double, a Daily Double wager featuring the last race at Santa Anita and the last race at Golden Gate, also remains on the wagering menu. Both “Golden Hour” wagers are hosted by Santa Anita.
CLAIMS REPORT
Below are the list of claims from last week:
Thursday
Race 1: Incredibly Lucky (New trainer Sam Calvario…New owners Johnny and Marcel Taboada)
Friday
Race 1: City Champ (Tim McCanna…Grant Alvernaz, Steven Ribeiro and Tim McCanna)
Race 2: Final Demand (Isidro Tamayo…William L. Smith)
Race 10: Kaline (Bill McLean…Fred Desimone, Gary Smith and Bill McLean)
Saturday
Race 1: Maxinamillion (John Martin…Hat Trick Racing and Jose Valle)
Race 1: Mr. Magico (Isidro Tamayo…Michael J. Wickman)
Race 5: Pour On the Cole (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables)
Race 9: Admirably (Victor Trujillo…Frank Aufdermaur and Wayne Swisher)
Sunday
Race 3: Two Bears (Jeff Metz…Peter Callella)
Race 11: Aigle (Owner/Trainer Jose Bautista)
Race 11: Invertigo (Isidro Tamayo…Johnny and Marcel Taboada)
FINISH LINES: Trainer Blaine Wright campaigns Mucho Amor in Friday’s Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita. Juan Hernandez rides…Happy birthday to stall manager Carrie Fawcett and trainer Andreas Psarras, both who celebrate their special day later this week…Bulletproof One and jockey Ricky Gonzalez team up in the opener on Saturday at Santa Anita, the $75,000 Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies…$153,038 is carried over into the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager on Thursday…Leg E (the final leg) of the Stronach 5 wager goes as Race 3 on Friday… Trainer Manny Badilla saddled a pair of impressive maiden winners last week. On Friday, European import Scherzo made her first in the United States and coasted to an eye-catching victory against fillies and mare routers on turf. “She’s really nice,” said Badilla. “She might be the next Sloane Garden!” One day later, Lotsa Pepper blasted out of the gate and never looked back, scoring a front running triumph against turf sprinters. “She’s fast,” said Badilla. “I guess it’s not a secret anymore.”