OLD PRO CROWN KITTEN TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Every time Crown Kitten steps on the track, she knows the drill. With 54 starts to her name, she has plenty of experience. This Friday, the Florida-bred daughter of Wildcat Heir is entered in Race 6, a first level allowance race for filly and mare sprinters, and faces the toughest field she has seen in quite some time.
Usually, we interview trainers or jockeys in the News and Notes. This week, we decided to get the perspective of an owner. Chris Carpenter, who co-owns Crown Kitten with trainer Bill McLean, shared his thoughts on the 7-year-old mare earlier this week.
“I think she has a lot of confidence right now,” said Carpenter. “These horses-especially ones like her-are competitive and want to be praised when they do well. She’s in great form right now. We’re giving her a shot at [the allowance] level to see where she fits. I think she was a little unlucky to lose last time. She was inside and, once she tipped outside, she ran on really well. She might have been able to win with a little bit better trip [on the outside].”
Carpenter is right; Crown Kitten is definitely stepping up in class. Over the last couple years, Crown Kitten has been most effective at mid-level claiming conditions. At the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, Crown Kitten either won or hit the board in five consecutive races. But after a pair of off-the-board placings in March and April, she was given time off to recuperate from a relatively long campaign.
After the aforementioned break, it took Crown Kitten a couple of races to get back into tip-top shape. But she is back at her best now. In her last four races, Crown Kitten has won twice, lost by a nose to next out winner Marilyn’s Smile, and, in her most recent start, finished a neck behind classy sprinter Queen of the Track.
Coincidentally, we have seen this pattern with Crown Kitten before. After multiple poor performances in early 2020, Crown Kitten was given four and a half months off. It took her four races to win following that layoff and, once she did, kept her good form from late 2020 to early 2021.
“Sometimes that happens with these older horses,” said Carpenter. “You give them some time off and it might take them a few races to get back to their best form. [Rest and recovery] can be a big help for these horses, though.”
Crown Kitten will be up against a strong field in Friday’s feature. That said, the strongest of the six entrants may scratch. Stakes winner Becca Taylor, tabbed at even money on the morning line, worked a half mile at Santa Anita on Wednesday morning and could bypass the race in favor of a different spot.
Still, other competitors appear with solid form. Lagatha cuts back from a route to a sprint and will be fit for what is her best game: one turn racing. Hot Rageous has shown an affinity for the Tapeta surface and makes her first start since being claimed by trainer Isidro Tamayo for $20,000. Tamayo wins at a 19% strike rate with runners making their first start off a claim. Annie Graham, a stablemate to Becca Taylor, won at this level in May of 2021 against restricted 3-year-old fillies and was given eight months off since that run. Her only afternoon appearance this year, on January 29, resulted in an off-the-board finish in which she suffered a less-from-ideal trip. Go Smiley Go makes her first start off a 3-month layoff and rounds out the field. The last time she won, she defeated a solid group of sprinters at this first level allowance condition.
Eight races are scheduled for Friday, 10 races made the overnight for Saturday, and 9 more end the racing week on Sunday. First post each day is 1:15 PM.
Race 6 on Friday (First level allowance at 6 furlongs on Tapeta for fillies and mares 4 YO and up)
#1 Go Smiley Go (Jockey Assael Espinoza…Trainer Cliff DeLima…morning line odds of 6-1)
#2 Lagatha (Irving Orozco…Reid France…7-2)
#3 Becca Taylor (Armando Ayuso…Steve Miyadi…1-1)
#4 Annie Graham (Alejandro Gomez…Steve Miyadi…10-1)
#5 Hot Rageous (Silvio Amador…Isidro Tamayo…9-2
#6 Crown Kitten (Pedro Terrero…Bill McLean…10-1)
ISTANBUL RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF HIS MAIDEN WIN
Southern California trainer James Cassidy has needed to be patient with grey/roan gelding Istanbul.
We take you back four years. Istanbul makes his first career start as a 2-year-old in July of 2018 at Del Mar. That day, he finishes second to Roadster, who went on to win the Grade I Santa Anita Derby the following year.
His next four starts come in a span of about 30 months. Multiple layoffs are needed throughout this period. In the four instances in which he made it to the afternoon, Istanbul finished behind quality runners: Game Winner (eventual 2018 Breeders Cup Juvenile winner), Bob and Jackie (eventual Grade 3 winner), Heywoods Beach (eventually Grade 3 placed), and Harbored Memories (eventual allowance winner).
Istanbul takes another layoff-almost a year’s worth of vacation time-before his fifth career race. Cassidy opts to ship the Florida-bred to Golden Gate, with hopes he would finally break his maiden against easier company. Istanbul returns the favor with a smashing five length victory over maiden special weight foes.
Patience is a virtue, right?
Istanbul exits the Golden Gate maiden victory in good shape. Good news. So, Cassidy runs him back about three weeks later in a first level allowance at Santa Anita. He runs a respectable race, finishing a length and a half behind the winner.
Fast forward another three weeks and here we are in present day. Istanbul is entered again-this time in a first level allowance sprint on Saturday at Golden Gate. The son of He’s Had Enough returns to the only surface (Tapeta) in which he has won over. Although he has the least experience in the field of seven, he appears as a legit player to beat in a contentious heat.
A second Southern California invader in the field is Truth Seeker. Earlier this year, the Manny Ortiz trainee rallied on for second at this level behind Hey Mate. Expect him to produce a rally from off the pace with jockey William Antongeorgi III, who guided Truth Seeker the last time he visited the Bay Area.
On March 13, Torpedo Away rallied up the fence to pick up a nose win at this level in his first start off a claim for trainer Blaine Wright. He makes his second start for the Wright barn. R M C Hook’em finished two lengths behind Torpedo Away after being up close to a scorching pace (21 seconds flat, 44 and 2/5 seconds for the half) and tiring in the final sixteenth of a mile. In January, R M C Hook’em beat Torpedo Away.
Exceed Speed Limit has won two races in a row for trainer Steve Sherman and seeks a three-peat while receiving a bump up in class. He draws the undesirable rail post position. Handr’sdream is the only horse in the race that appears fast enough to press Istanbul on the pace while Alvaaro makes his 2021 debut and rounds out the field.
Race 8 on Sunday (First level allowance at 6 furlongs on Tapeta for 4-year-olds and up)
#1 Exceed Speed Limit (Jockey Pedro Terrero…Trainer Steve Sherman)
#2 Istanbul (Evin Roman…James Cassidy)
#3 R M C Hook’em (Irving Orozco…Victor Trujillo)
#4 Torpedo Away (Frank Alvarado…Blaine Wright)
#5 Handr’sdream (Silvio Amador…Isidro Tamayo)
#6 Alvaaro (Santos Rivera…Victor Trujillo)
#7 Truth Seeker (William Antongeorgi III…Manny Ortiz)
NOMINATIONS FOR GOLD RUSH WEEKEND STAKES CLOSE NEXT WEEK
Nominations for six stakes races on Gold Rush Weekend Saturday, April 30 close next Thursday, April 21 at midnight. The stakes:
- $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile (3-year-olds and up at one mile on turf)
- $100,000 California Derby (3-year-olds at one mile and a sixteenth on Tapeta)
- $75,000 California Oaks (3-year-old fillies at one mile and a sixteenth on Tapeta)
- $75,000 Camilla Urso (fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up at five furlongs on turf)
- $75,000 Golden Poppy (fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up at one mile and a sixteenth on turf)
- $75,000 Lost in the Fog (3-year-olds and up at six furlongs on Tapeta)
Nominations for a pair of stakes races on Sunday, May 1 close next Friday, April 22 at midnight. Those two races are:
- $75,000 Campanile (California-bred or sired 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf)
- $75,000 Silky Sullivan (California-bred or sired 3-year-olds at one mile on turf)
Horsemen who wish to nominate a horse (or horses) can contact the GGF racing office or stakes coordinator Lisa Jones at (626) 388-8062 (e-mail: lisnpac12@hotmail.com).
Folks who wish to attend the races on Gold Rush Weekend can visit Goldengatefields.com to purchase tickets. Fans can also visit our website for more information on Gold Rush Weekend, the marquee racing weekend of the year in Northern California!
SAN FRANCISCO MILE CONTENDERS SCHEDULED FOR A STROLL ON THE TURF COURSE
Weather permitting, four possible San Francisco Mile starters will gallop on the outside rail of the turf course within the next week. These gallops were originally scheduled for Saturday, but with rain hitting the Bay Area on Thursday and projected showers off-and-on this Saturday, those gallops could be moved to Tuesday morning. The horses-whichever day they gallop-will be on the turf course at 10:30 AM.
The four horses scheduled to tour the turf course are stakes winner Freeport Joe, stakes placed Ultimate Bango and the O.J. Jauregui trained pair of Camino Del Paraiso and Tesoro.
Freeport Joe (trained by Gloria Haley) won the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap in November last and subsequently scored a pair of victories against open allowance company. Most recently, he finished fifth as the favorite in an allowance event on turf after missing the break and racing wide on both turns.
Ultimate Bango (trained by Sammy Calvario) is possible for the ‘Mile after being claimed for $25,000 by owner Mary Tucker at Santa Anita. Although Ultimate Bango has hit the board in four California-bred sprint stakes (including the 2021 Oakland Stakes and the 2020 El Dorado Shooter), the son of Grade 2 winning router Uh Oh Bango won at a mile on turf as a 3-year-old.
Camino Del Paraiso (trained by O.J. Jauregui) is a four-time stakes winner at Golden Gate. His last San Francisco Mile appearance came in 2020 when running third behind Neptune’s Storm and Kiwi’s Dream. Earlier in the year, the 9-year-old gelding was the runner up at Santa Anita in the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic Presented by City National Bank.
Tesoro (also trained by O.J. Jauregui) put up a strong showing when finishing second to 2021 Arkansas Derby winner Super Stock in the Zia Park Derby last November. Since then, he has finished second in a trio of second level allowance races on Tapeta. If he runs in the San Francisco Mile, he will be making his turf debut.
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is a list of horses claims from last week:
FRIDAY
Race 4: Elgofranco (New trainer D. Wayne Baker…new owner Richard Barton)
Race 4: What Up Now J T (Ed Moger Jr…Bill Meikle)
Race 5: Del Mar Flash (Sammy Calvario…Johnny Taboada)
Race 7: J T’s Watch (Isidro Tamayo…Brett Sandquist and John Tipton)
Race 7: Offshore Affair (Owner/Trainer Mark Glatt)
SATURDAY
Race 1: Air Force Woman (Melanie McDonald…Audrey Martel)
Race 6: Champagne Pegasus (Jonathan Wong…Johnny Taboada)
Race 8: Wine and Whisky (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables and Steven Earl Hagen)
Race 10: Bourbonwithatwist (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables)
SUNDAY
Race 9: Dark Prince (Jesus Ramos…Candelario Barragan)
Race 9: Jedi Knight (Eddie Rich…Luciano Medina)
Race 9: Tough It Out (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables)
FINISH LINES: Congratulations to trainer Blaine Wright, who won the $150,000 Evening Jewel Stakes last Saturday at Santa Anita with 3-year-old filly Power Surge. Ricky Gonzalez rode the daughter of Straight Fire to a game, front-running victory at astronomical odds of 70-1…A fun heat ends the racing week: a field of 9 filly and mare sprinters compete five furlongs in the nightcap on Sunday…There is a MANDATORY PAYOUT in the Stronach 5 this Friday. Leg D (the second to last leg) of the Stronach 5 goes as Race 3 at Golden Gate…$28,725 is the jackpot carryover amount in the Golden Pick Six on Friday afternoon…Happy birthday to trainer Jose Puentes and Andy Munoz, assistant to trainer Dan Franko, who celebrate their birthdays in the next 7 days.