STAKES PLACED NARDINI BACK IN ACTION IN A LARGE FIELD OF 13
5-year-old mare Nardini ran two bang-up races this summer: she scored a seven-length victory against second level allowance foes at Pleasanton and followed that effort up with a nose loss to stakes winner Pulpit Rider in the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar. Both runs were going a route a ground. In the Solana Beach, Nardini finished ahead of graded stakes winners Warrens Showtime and Leggs Galore.
Nardini makes her first start off a four-month layoff in the signature race on Saturday, the $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes at six furlongs for California-bred fillies and mares on Saturday. Nardini gets back to sprinting in the Bear Fan, something she thrived at earlier in her career.
“We freshened her up after a really hard race at Del Mar. She ran two really big races routing over the summer,” said Mathis. “She’s been real flighty and I don’t think mentally, early on [in her career], she would’ve got [two turns] well. I would’ve just seen her running off early in the race or being real difficult to control. Now, with some time, maturity, and the fact that she’s gotten plenty of races under her belt, she was able to handle that stretch out a lot better.”
Nardini has worked four times in preparation for the Bear Fan: a three-furlong blowout, a half mile work, and two five-furlong breezes. Mathis is confident she is fit to run well off the break.
“I think she’s just naturally fit,” said Mathis. “She broke her maiden off a two-year layoff. I’m not worried about fitness. She’s working really good, she’s fresh, she’s happy and it’ll be a fun race for her to come back in [off a layoff].”
The best way to sum it up is that this is a good race to come back in, but it’s certainly not a prep race,” continued Mathis. “We’re 100% all in trying to win this race. Two turns on the grass is really in her wheelhouse. We’ll get there eventually.”
A large field of 13 are entered to run in the Bear Fan. Nardini is the 3-1 morning line favorite. The only Southern California entrant in the race is Hot Rageous, making her first start off the claim for trainer Richard Baltas. Six of nine lifetime starts have come at Golden Gate; in every one of those races in Northern California, she has finished first or second. In fact, her two most recent efforts in the Bay Area resulted in wins at the first level allowance condition. Other contenders likely to get significant play include Tip Top Gal, a winner of a second level allowance race in October for trainer Quentin B. Miller, 2019 Bear Fan Stakes winner Princess Vivian, multiple stakes winners Ima Happy Cat and Daffodil Sweet, and the well-bred Rebalation.
11-races are scheduled for Saturday, with an early first post time of 11:45 AM PT. The Bear Fan goes as the ninth race. 102 horses are entered on the Saturday program, equating to a 9.2 horse-per race average.
Race 9: $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes (California-bred fillies and mares at 6 furlongs on Tapeta)
#1 Dee Gee (Jockey Armando Ayuso…Reid France…morning line odds of 8-1)
#2 Daffodil Sweet (Kevin Orozco…Tim McCanna…6-1)
#3 Rebalation (Frank Alvarado…Tim McCanna…5-1)
#4 Princess Vivian (Catalino Martinez…Sergio Ledezma…8-1)
#5 Tip Top Gal (Irving Orozco…Quentin Miller…9-2)
#6 Hot Rageous (William Antongeorgi…Richard Baltas…10-1)
#7 Carolina Mia (Pedro Terrero…Felix Rondan…15-1)
#8 Draw Me (Francisco Monroy…Terri Eaton…15-1)
#9 Square Peggy (Santos Rivera…Quinn Howey…30-1)
#10 Nardini (Assael Espinoza…Andy Mathis…3-1)
#11 Getting Sideways (Brayan Pena…Dan Markle…20-1)
#12 Ima Happy Cat (Evin Roman…Dan Markle…12-1)
#13 J and K Express (Cristobal Herrera…Leanna Ekstrom…50-1)
MANDATORY PAYOUTS THIS SUNDAY
Sunday’s 11-race program completes the current fall meeting at Golden Gate Fields. With that, mandatory payouts are in play for this Closing Day Sunday, December 12.
Heading into Friday’s card, the Golden Pick Six jackpot carryover sits at $31,522. Regardless of if the jackpot is hit on Friday or Saturday, there is a definite mandatory payout of the 20-cent Pick Six on Sunday. The Pick Six begins in Race 6 on Sunday and ends in the last race, Race 11. Post time for the first leg of the Pick Six is approximately 2:15 pm. The nightcap on Sunday also features a mandatory payout in the Rolling Super High Five, a $1 minimum bet in which horseplayers must correctly tab the first five finishers in a race.
Both Pick 5 bets are also mandatory payout wagers. The Early Pick 5, a low 14% takeout bet every day at Golden Gate, is a sequence that consists of the first five races on each race card. The Late Pick 5 features the last five races on the program.
Early first post on Saturday and Sunday is set for 11:45 AM. On Friday, a 9-race program begins at 12:45 PM.
NORTHERN VS. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN MISS AMERICA STAKES
The Golden Gate fall meet stakes action ends in Sunday’s ninth race, the $50,000 Miss America Stakes for filly and mare turf routers at one mile and a sixteenth. The field includes a hearty mix of Southern California shippers and local contenders in search of the Miss America gold prize.
Although Southern California trainer Michael McCarthy is 0 for 7 at the current fall meet, he typically posts strong numbers when shipping horses to Golden Gate Fields. McCarthy campaigns Brooke, one of four Southern California contenders in the 2021 Miss America. A Group 1 winner in South America, the daughter of No Nay Never was sent to McCarthy’s barn in the spring and has run four times for the stable. So far, she has hit the board in four stakes races in Southern California: the Grade 3 Wilshire, the Grade 3 Megahertz, the Swingtime Stakes, and the Osunitas Stakes. Local rider Ruben Fuentes rides for the first time.
Grade 3 placed mare Tapwater seeks her first stakes victory in the Miss America. Her most recent start came in an allowance race at Del Mar, where she lost by a nose to Grade I winner Mucho Unusual. Earlier in her career, she finished third in the Grade 3 Santa Barbara Stakes at Santa Anita, and earlier this summer finished a quarter of a length behind Brookein the Osunitas Stakes at Del Mar. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella shipped Tapwater to Golden Gate Fields last weekend, and she worked five furlongs on Tapeta Sunday morning in 1:02 and 1/5 seconds. Evin Roman rides for owners LNJ Foxwoods.
Northern California racing fans will likely remember Avenue de France’s last to first victory in the Luther Burbank Stakes. She has run once since then, finishing fourth (while getting beat out for third by Brooke) in the Swingtime Stakes. Assael Espinoza, who was aboard for the Luther Burbank score, retains the mount for trainer Leonard Powell.
Cordiality makes her second start off a year layoff for trainer Tim Yakteen and draws the rail. Before the lengthy vacation, Cordiality won the 2020 Swingtime Stakes, the Osunitas Stakes and the Frans Valentine Stakes. In all three starts, she was able to secure a clear lead. Expect her to be part of the pace with Catalino Martinez aboard.
A quintet of Northern California players are entered. Trainer Manny Badilla has two runners in the race, Northwest Factor and Sloane Garden. Northwest Factor is arguably better on Tapeta than turf, though she did run second by a neck to Grade I winner Keeperof the Stars in an allowance turf race on April 24. There is rain in the forecast on Sunday, so if for some reason the race is taken off the grass and moved to the main track, Northwest Factor will benefit from that. Sloane Garden, on the other hand, is better on turf than synthetic. She hasn’t raced since an off-the-board finish behind her stablemate in an allowance on Tapeta in May. She sports four workouts, including a six-furlong drill and a five-furlong gate work, leading up to this stake. In 2020, Sloane Garden won the Golden Poppy and Luther Burbank on turf, and is three for six lifetime on the Golden Gate green.
Reiwa is on a roll for leading trainer Jonathan Wong; her last two races ended in trips to the winner’s circle. Both races were against first level allowance foes. She boasts a four for six record on the Golden Gate Fields turf but is winless in eight starts on Tapeta.
Fairy Tale Bliss and Blue Diva round out the field. Both runners will likely go off at high prices. Fairy Tale Bliss finished third the last time she routed on the turf, placing behind next out winner Time Voyage. Blue Diva finished fourth against males in her most recent afternoon appearance and is 0 for 12 in her last dozen starts. Like Northwest Factor, Blue Diva is more effective on synthetic. Fairy Tale Bliss’s best races have come is turf.
Race 9: $50,000 Miss America Stakes (Fillies and mares at one mile and a sixteenth on turf)
#1 Cordiality (Jockey Catalino Martinez…Trainer Tim Yakteen)
#2 Brooke (Ruben Fuentes…Michael McCarthy)
#3 Sloane Garden (Armando Ayuso…Manny Badilla)
#4 Fairy Tale Bliss (Francisco Monroy…Sergio Ledezma)
#5 Tapwater (Evin Roman…Richard Mandella)
#6 Avenue de France (Assael Espinoza…Leonard Powell)
#7 Northwest Factor (Pedro Terrero…Manny Badilla)
#8 Blue Diva (Irving Orozco…Isidro Tamayo)
#9 Reiwa (William Antongeorgi III…Jonathan Wong)
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is a list of claims from last week.
FRIDAY
Race 5: Grigoro (New trainer Isidro Tamayo…Frankly Speaking LLC0
Race 5: Malibu Hannah (Jedd Josephson…Keith Pronske)
Race 6: This is the One (Reid France…Hat Trick Racing)
SATURDAY
Race 2: Ron for My Honey (Aggie Ordonez…McLean Racing Stables)
Race 3: Babe’s Got Appeal (Jesus Uranga…Silvia Soto)
Race 5: Cocoa Cents (Owner/Trainer Tim McCanna)
Race 5: Lizzy’s Inthegame (Gary Greiner…Renee Greiner)
Race 7: Of Good Report (Tim Bellasis…Donna Smartt, Cassandra Tscanz and Bellasis)
SUNDAY
Race 4: St. Annie’s Indy (Victor Trujillo…Fred Montini and Trujillo)
Race 4: Where’s Frankie (Jonathan Wong…Johnny Taboada)
Race 8: Darcee’s Lovi Dovi (Bill McLean…Chris Carpenter)
FINISH LINES: With three more live racing days to go at the current Fall meet, Pedro Terrero has a 3-win lead (26 victories in total) over Evin Roman (23) in the jockey standings. Armando Ayuso sits in third with 20 wins…In the trainer standings, Jonathan Wong continues to lead by a convincing margin (32 wins). Reid France (16) and Tim McCanna (13) round out the top three spots…Happy birthday to trainers Jose Bautista, Tim McCanna, Eddie Rich, Jonathan Wong, jockey Pablo Flores, jockey agent Leo Rodriguez and racing official Lori Bailey, who all celebrate their birthdays in the next couple weeks…After Sunday’s festivities, live racing at Golden Gate resumes on Sunday, December 26 (the day after Christmas), Opening Day of the 2021/2022 Winter/Spring meet. Happy Holidays and we’ll see you then!!!