Albany, Calif. (January 20, 2018) Choo Choo and jockey Juan Hernandez stalked the pace before taking the lead turning for home and shaking off a late challenge from second place finisher Mugaritz in deep stretch. The son of English Channel finished a length and three quarters ahead of Mugaritz, who ran gallantly in defeat for trainer Jonathan Wong and jockey Frank Alvarado. Intimidate, winner of The King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos Racecourse last month, completed the trifecta.
“We thought [Choo Choo] would like the synthetics and thought this would be a good spot for him,” said winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who has won The California Derby nine times since 1991. “He ran good.”
Choo Choo completed the mile and a sixteenth in 1:44.50 seconds and paid $4.00 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.80 to show. The 2018 California Derby winner was bred and owned by Calumet Farm, one of the top racing operations in North America.
Choo Choo had a solid resume heading into The California Derby. The 3-year-old colt most recently ran third in The Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita and finished fourth behind Award It in The Grade 3 Cecil DeMille at Del Mar in November. The aforementioned rival is the top 3-year-old turf horse in North America. With The California Derby victory, Choo Choo improved his record to 2 wins, 0 seconds and 3 thirds in 6 lifetime starts, with career earnings of $115,188.
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