AYUSO OFF TO A GOOD START AT GOLDEN GATE
Jockey Armando Ayuso has quickly made a favorable impression amongst horsemen and Bay Area racing fans. The 26-year-old native of Panama recently shipped his tack to Golden Gate Fields and rode in a quartet of races last week. From those four races, Ayuso won a pair and hit the board with his two other mounts.
Last Saturday, Ayuso won the third race with Reina de Reyes, a 2-year-old trained by Leanna Ekstrom. The son of Animal Kingdom broke his maiden at the one-mile distance on turf. One day later, Ayuso guided Terrible Ted to a gate to wire score for veteran horseman John Martin in a six-furlong sprint on Tapeta. His two in-the-money finishes on Monday came for the Pablo De Jesus barn.
“I’m excited to be [at Golden Gate],” said Ayuso. “I’m going to work really, really hard to do the best I can. I am really thankful for all of the opportunities the trainers here have given me so far. At the end of the day, I’m going to do everything I can to be successful here.”
Ayuso learned to ride in Panama and began riding there as an apprentice. When he moved to America in 2012, he rode at tracks all over the country including Belmont Park, Gulfstream, Indiana Grand, Monmouth Park and Santa Anita. After taking some time off from riding in races, Ayuso galloped and worked horses for trainer Mark Glatt.
“It’s hard to get going at Santa Anita,” said Ayuso. “A couple of trainers here told me they would put me on some horses and I thought coming to Golden Gate would be a great opportunity. I really like it here; the people are nice and it’s a beautiful track.”
Ayuso is represented by fledgling agent Serjio Garcia. This week, Ayuso is booked on four mounts on Friday, two on Saturday and four more on Sunday.
BADILLA TRAINED PAIR CLASH IN FRIDAY FEATURE
Trainer Manny Badilla may hold the aces in Friday’s feature event, Race 2, an allowance for fillies and mares at one mile on Tapeta. The longtime Bay Area horseman saddles the top two morning line choices in the field, Sloane Garden and Never Be Enough, and feels good about both of their chances.
“Both of them can win,” said Badilla. “A dead heat would be fun!”
2-time stakes winner Sloane Garden, set as the 8-5 morning line favorite, won the Golden Poppy Stakes in June and the Luther Burbank Stakes in August. Although both aforementioned runs came on turf, Badilla is not concerned with the surface switch.
“Sloane Garden is doing great,” said Badilla. “She’s been working beautifully. All class. She’s already won twice on Tapeta.”
This is true. Sloane Garden broke her maiden in a canter last year over the Tapeta and also won an allowance race on the aforesaid surface in the wintertime.
August 28th allowance winner Never Be Enough is listed as the 9-5 second choice on the morning line and “should not be ignored,” according to Badilla. The daughter of Sir Percy has been steadily climbing up the class ladder and comes off a stellar run in which she defeated stakes placed and multiple allowance winning stablemate Ziarah.
“Never Be Enough is a nice mare,” said Badilla. “She’s also doing really well. It should be a good race.”
Regular rider Kyle Frey is back aboard Sloane Garden while Irving Orozco retains the mount on Never Be Enough.
Also entered in Race 2 on Friday: 2019 Miss American Stakes winner Blue Diva, stretch out sprinter Misirlou and longshot Tip Top Gal.
GIVE ME THE LUTE ROUTES, AMERICAN FARMER FACES OLDER IN SALTY SATURDAY ALLOWANCE
A strong 9-race program on Saturday is highlighted by Race 6, a second level allowance race that looks more like a stake on paper. The mile and a sixteenth turf route features two interesting prospects: track record holder Give Me the Lute and stakes winner American Farmer.
Give Me the Lute, trained by Andy Mathis, broke the track record sprinting five furlongs over firm turf on June 7. That day, he stopped the clock in 55.34 seconds, winning by seven lengths in an eye-popping performance.
Give Me the Lute is no stranger to routing. As a 3-year-old at Del Mar, he broke his maiden going two turns. His last route race, in a first level allowance at Del Mar immediately following the maiden win, resulted in a length loss while encountering traffic problems down the lane.
“I’ve always thought this horse would be a solid router,” said Mathis. “He’s doing really good. I have a lot of confidence he can route. He’s in a tough race with good horses…but he’s a good horse himself.”
American Farmer, in the meantime, is a Steve Sherman trainee last seen finishing off-the-board in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby. Winner of the Robert Dupret Derby for 3-year-olds in August, American Farmer sports class and comes off a run in which he earned a career high Beyer speed figure (83).
“He’s training forwardly,” said Sherman. “He runs against solid, older horses on Saturday-that’s never easy-but we’re running him to see where he fits for the rest of the year and heading into 2021.”
Recent first level allowance winner Fuente is campaigned by trainer Manny Badilla. Obviously, the competition is stern.
“This race came up real tough,” said Badilla. “There are some really nice horses in there. Fuente ran better than ever last time out and this is the next logical spot for a horse like him. We’re giving it a spin.”
Stakes placed Builder, Stakes winner More Power to Him and allowance winners Harmon and Manila Mischief complete the field of seven. Builder possesses an interesting story line, having just been claimed for $62,500 by trainer Ed Moger Jr. and his brother, owner Steve Moger.
Note that first post on Saturday afternoon is 1:45 PM PT. Friday and Sunday have a scheduled first post of 1:15 PM PT.
GOLDEN PICK SIX JACKPOT POOL CLIMBS TO $287,833 HEADING INTO FRIDAY/MANDATORY PAYOUTS ON SUNDAY
Heading into Friday afternoon’s 8-race program, the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager carryover has increased to a whopping $287,833. If the jackpot pool were to carry two more days, then a large mandatory payout pool would be in play for Sunday, with a projected 7-figure new money pool to be added into the pot on Closing Day Sunday. Along with the mandatory payout in the Golden Pick Six, Sunday also offers mandatory payouts in both Pick 5 wagers and the Rolling Super High Five.
Closing Day Sunday, which wraps up the current summer meet, is a 10-race program. The Fall meet, which begins next Thursday, October 22 and runs through Sunday, December 13, features 10 stakes races that will be highlighted in next week’s News and Notes.
CLAIMS REPORT
Below are the list of claims made last week:
THURSDAY
Race 5: And Counting (New Owner/Trainer Jesus Uranga)
Race 5: Super Bunny (New Owner/Trainer Andrew Nguyen)
FRIDAY
Race 1: Nina En Fuego (New Trainer Isidro Tamayo…New Owner Aaron Pewtherer)
Race 6: Trina (Victor Trujillo…Isidro Ruvalcalba and Victor Trujillo)
Race 7: Mybluebell (Sammy Calvario…Mary Tucker)
SATURDAY
Race 1: Surprise Fashion (Angelo Tekos Jr…Steve Dietrich)
Race 4: Aries (Aggie Ordonez…McLean Racing Stables)
Race 4: Regal Lady (Sammy Calvario…David Angel Cota and Sammy Calvario)
Race 6: Splashing (John Martin…Hat Trick Racing)
Race 8: Pour On The Cole (Steve Specht…The Robert McCabe Family Trust)
SUNDAY
Race 1: Commissioness (Milton Pineda…Lizbeth Medina)
Race 1: Tibby Gee (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables)
Race 2: All American Hero (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables and Madden Racing)
Race 7: Roman Rush (Victor Trujillo…Carrol Stubbs)
Race 9: Soberano (Andy Mathis…Michael Jawl and Andy Mathis)
MONDAY
Race 3: Pacific Strike (Angelo Tekos Jr…Michael Conway)
FINISH LINES: With 3 days left to go at the current summer meet, Kyle Frey leads all riders in wins with 40 victories, 15 more than apprentice Santos Rivera…Jonathan Wong sit atop the trainer standings with 35 trips to the winner’s circle. Isidro Tamayo holds the second spot with 21 wins…Shot of a Lifetime led every step of the way in Race 8 on Sunday, a 15-furlong turf marathon for starter allowance horses. Cristobal Herrera guided the California-bred son of Many Rivers to victory for trainer Ellen Jackson…Nardini put up a respectable showing at Santa Anita for trainer Andy Mathis last Sunday, finishing third in the $100,000 California Distaff Stakes for California-bred turf sprinters…Camilla Urso Stakes winner Tomlin finished fourth in a stakes-caliber allowance race at Keeneland on Sunday. The daughter of Distorted Humor is currently under the care of trainer Mike Stidham…Grade I winning mare Ollie’s Candy, who began her career at Golden Gate in 2018, will make her next and final start in the November 7 Breeders Cup Distaff at Keeneland before starting her new career as a broodmare. Ollie’s Candy is trained by John Sadler…Along with the large jackpot carryover on Friday, there is a $4,798 carryover in the Rolling Super High Five pool in the first race in which the aforesaid wager is offered.