ALBANY, Calif. (December 2, 2017) Southern California shippers have dominated in stakes races at the 2017 Golden Gate Fields Fall meet and that trend continued on Saturday when City Plan, trained by Eoin Harty, flew up north and proceeded to beat nine other rivals in The $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes for 2-year-olds. City Plan stopped the clock for one mile in 1:39.01 seconds and paid $51.20 to win.
“I got hung wide most of the way but he was full of run so it didn’t matter,” said jockey Tyler Connor, who rode the bay colt to victory. “Down the lane he was all over the place. He was lugging in the whole way. If he figures things out, he will get even better.”
City Plan is owned by Godolphin Racing LLC, the racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makotum. Sheikh Mohammed, the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, also bred City Plan. By top sire Street Sense, City Plan has an outstanding female family. His dam, Interior Design, is by A.P Indy and out of a mare who won a Group 2 in Europe and placed in The Grade I Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park in 1991.
“I’ve never rode him in a race before but worked him a few times and he worked well,” said Connor. “Galloping out, he was rolling. I think he can definitely go further.”
Ayacara, who most recently ran fourth in The Grade I Frontrunner Stakes at Santa Anita, went off as the 4-5 favorite under Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux. The Del Mar maiden winner broke a bit slowly, came with a late rally down the stretch but finished three-quarters of a length behind City Plan in second. Respect the Hustle, the winner of The Oak Tree Juvenile Stakes at Pleasanton, stalked the pace and wound up third over recent maiden winner Afleet Ascent.
With the Gold Rush Stakes score, City Plan has now won 2 of 4 career starts with earnings of $72,690. The next 2-year-old stakes race at Golden Gate Fields is the $100,000 California Derby on January 20. City Plan is “possible” for the mile and a sixteenth contest.
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