GOLDEN GATE FIELDS STABLE NOTES
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
- 2017 FALL MEET KICKS OFF THIS THURSDAY
- NEW LOCAL CONDITIONER ANTHONY STABILE READY TO RUMBLE
2017 FALL MEET KICKS OFF THIS THURSDAY
Live racing for the 2017 Fall Meet at Golden Gate Fields begins this Thursday, October 19 and runs through Sunday, December 10. Entries for opening day were taken earlier this afternoon (Sunday, October 15) and 55 horses were entered to compete on the seven-race Thursday card (an average of 7.8 horses per race).
First post time each afternoon of the 32-day Fall meet is at 12:45 PM, with three exceptions. The first race on November 3 (Breeders Cup Friday) will go off at 12:05 PM while post time on November 4 (Breeders Cup Saturday) is at 11:40 AM. Golden Gate Fields will also hold live thoroughbred racing on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23) with a special first post of 11:15 AM. The gates open every morning at 10 AM.
Eight stakes races (listed below) are set to take place this fall, highlighted by The Grade 3, $100,000 Berkeley Handicap for colts and geldings and the $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes for 2-year-olds.
2017 GGF Fall Meet Stakes Schedule
October 28: $75,000 Pike Place Dancer Stakes for 2 YO fillies (one mile on the turf)
November 11: $50,000 Golden Nugget Stakes for 2 YO’s (six furlongs on the tapeta)
November 18: $50,000 Oakland Stakes for 3 YO’s & up (six furlongs on the tapeta)
November 24: $50,000 Golden Gate Debutante for 2 YO fillies (six furlongs on the tapeta)
November 25: $100,000 Berkeley Handicap for 3 YO’s & up (Mile and a sixteenth on the tapeta)
December 2: $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes for 2 YO’s (one mile on the tapeta)
December 9 $75,000 Bear Fan Stakes for Cal-bred fillies & mares 3 YO’s & up (six furlongs on the tapeta)
December 10: $50,000 Miss America Stakes for fillies and mares 3 YO’s & up (mile and a sixteenth on turf)
NEW LOCAL CONDITIONER ANTHONY STABILE READY TO RUMBLE
Trainer Anthony Stabile is no stranger to the racetrack; he worked for trainers Bobby Frankel and Laz Barrera, was a jockey agent for top quality riders like Kent Desormeaux and Jean Cruguet, and has trained horses since 1980. But for now Stabile is the new guy in town, as the Brooklyn native recently shipped his 20 horse stable to Golden Gate from Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania.
“I’m here to run. We’ll be entering plenty of horses,” said Stabile. “All of my stock can run on either turf or the tapeta.”
One horse Stabile is quite high on is Black Tie Event, a 4-year-old gelding by Distorted Humor who won six races at The 2017 Presque Isle meet, three of those victories coming against allowance company.
“Black Tie Event is the reason I came here, honestly,” said Stabile. “I looked and saw The Berkeley Handicap in the condition book and thought it’d be a great race for him. That horse has the heart of a gorilla. He’s tough.”
“I’d like to stay here as long as possible,” added Stabile. “So far, The Stronach Group and [racing secretary] Patrick Mackey have been nothing but good to me.”
Stabile’s son, also named Anthony, is a host on the Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) and a commentator on NYRA Live.
FINISH LINES: 25-year-old trainer Ari Herbertson is pointing 4-year-old gelding Noble Nick to The Marathon Stakes on the Breeders Cup Friday undercard at Del Mar. The Marathon, run at a mile and three-quarters on the dirt, will go as Race 3 on the November 3 undercard. Herbertson and his father Scott claimed Noble Nick for $16,000 in May and have won two races with the son of Zensational, including a victory last month in The Humboldt County Marathon at Ferndale. Noble Nick also ran third in The Grade 3 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar this summer…Jockeys Rocco Bowen, Julien Couton and Kevin Orozco are back in the Bay Area after a successful meet at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. Bowen finished first in the standings with 126 wins, just one victory shy of the Emerald Downs record for most wins by a jockey in a single season. Couton, who showed up to Emerald a couple of months after the meet started, finished second in the standings with 65 wins while Orozco wound up third with 63 trips to the winners circle, and also received the Top Apprentice Rider award. Kevin, the younger brother of 2016 summer meet leading rider Irving Orozco, lost his bug in late August. Bowen and Couton are represented by agent David “Marbles” Singer while Tom “Bomber” Doutrich has Orozco’s book…Golden Gate Fields welcomes Jose Verenzuela to the jockey colony. Verenzuela is a native of Venezuela who recently shipped his tack up north from Santa Anita Park. Verezuela scored the biggest win of his career in the 2009 $2,000,000 Grade I Dubai Golden Shaheen aboard Big City Man and has also won multiple stakes races in Singapore. He will be represented by agent Don August…Track announcer Frank Mirahmadi returns to the Golden Gate announcer’s booth on Thursday after another season at Monmouth Park in New Jersey…Matt Dinerman, fresh off a track announcing gig at Emerald Downs, is also back at Golden Gate and will be doing paddock/handicapping analysis for the second year in a row…Notable horses on the Sunday, October 15 work tab include 2 time Oakland Stakes winner Star Student (1/2 mile in 50 seconds), 2016 El Camino Real Derby (G3) winner Zakaroff (one mile in 1:40 & 4/5 seconds), and 2016 Laz Barrera Stakes (G3) winner I Will Score (5 furlongs in 1:01 & 4/5 seconds).
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