MISTER BOLD AND WINDY CITY RED FACE EASIER, CRISTIANO’S DREAM TRIES WINNERS IN INTRIGUING FRIDAY NIGHTCAP
An appealing finale on Friday afternoon ends a good-quality Friday card at Golden Gate Fields. Race 8, a 6-furlong allowance for 3-year-olds, features a Southern California contender as the one to beat and a half-dozen local contenders looking to play spoiler.
Mister Bold, a winner in all three career starts going one turn, is tabbed as the 8-5 morning line favorite. In his only career loss, he finished a length and a quarter behind the winner in the King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos. Mister Bold won a California-bred allowance race at Santa Anita in his most recent start for trainer Jeff Bonde, who is pleased with how his 3-year-old enters the Friday co-feature.
“He has steadily improved with racing experience,” said Bonde. “We wanted to get a race into him before some California-bred stakes and this race popped up. It’s a good spot. I don’t think racing over a synthetic surface will be a problem for him.”
Windy City Red, who finished third in the Speakeasy Stakes in September and competed in last year’s Breeders Cup Turf Sprint, faces easier allowance foes at Golden Gate after a third-place finish at the aforementioned condition on turf at Santa Anita. He makes his first start as a gelding and breaks from the rail for trainer Jonathan Wong.
“We’ve always liked him and he’s training OK,” said Wong. “There’s not an abundance of speed in this race so if he breaks, I’d be happy to see him close to the pace. If he doesn’t get the lead he can run on; he’s pretty versatile. He’s had a hard campaign to this point, but the class relief should help and being a gelding now, we’re hoping that helps his focus.”
Cristiano’s Dream, installed at 4-1 by linemaker Steve Martinelli, broke his maiden like a horse with a bright future for trainer Mike Lenzini on January 17. A son of Breeders Cup Turf mile winner Tourist, Cristiano’s Dream is out of the In Excess mare Dances on Water, making him a half sibling to Grade 3 winner and 500k earner Gold Rush Dancer.
“I’m expecting a solid effort,” said Lenzini. “He’s training great heading into this race. I knew he had talent [before his first start], but I was surprised with how easily he won the other day. He’s begging for a mile, but I want to have him fit to go two turns, so we’ll give him one more sprint and then stretch him out. He’s got a great mind and is very push button. You can pretty much do whatever you want with him.”
Big Duke draws the outside post and comes off a victory at this level. Since he is a California-bred, he is eligible to win at this level twice. Raging Waters seeks his fourth win in a row, having most recently defeated a group of starter allowance foes last month. Longshots Corsican and A Little Bit Lucky complete the field of seven.
Race 8 on Friday (Allowance for 3-year-olds at six furlongs)
#1 Windy City Red (Jockey Evin Roman, trainer Jonathan Wong)
#2 Cristiano’s Dream (Erick Lopez, Mike Lenzini)
#3 Raging Waters (Irving Orozco, Jedd Josephson)
#4 Corsican (Assael Espinoza, D. Wayne Baker)
#5 Mister Bold (Frank Alvarado, Jeff Bonde)
#6 A Little Bit Lucky (Jose Rodriguez, Efrain Miranda)
#7 Big Duke (Kyle Frey, Sergio Ledezma)
Two other allowance races catch the eye on the Friday card. Race 2, a second level allowance sprint for fillies and mare 4-years-old and upward, features recent winner Coco Bee, the well-bred Tiz Fake News and stakes winner Princess Vivian. Race 7 is an allowance for 3-year-old fillies. Among the entries: recent maiden winners Party Spirit, Silk Road Sally and Ten the Smart Way, allowance winner Do You Hear That and the ultra-consistent Emma’s Dance.
KING OF SPEED RETURNS, CONO GETS BACK TO TAPETA IN SATURDAY FEATURE
Saturday’s feature race, a second level allowance at one mile and a sixteenth, features a strong Southern California presence and some of the best local handicap horses at Golden Gate. The marquee Saturday event runs as Race 8 on a 9-race program.
Fivestar Lynch, racing for the first time under the care of Southern California conditioner Phil D’Amato, makes his second start off a four-month layoff. Last time out, the Irish-bred was well beaten against a second level allowance group at Santa Anita. His only victory against winners came two starts ago in a first level allowance at Del Mar. He’ll be guided by jockey Evin Roman for the first time.
Roman was aboard King of Speed in his last start-a race in which he beat Our Silver Oak and Lymebird at this condition on January 30. That afternoon, King of Speed held off Our Silver Oak throughout the length of the lane.
“He really fought hard when [Our Silver Oak] came up alongside of him,” said King of Speed’s trainer, Jeff Bonde. “The owners are from Northern California and he’s been training at Golden Gate since the win. We figured we’d keep him up here for now. This is a good condition for him.”
Our Silver Oak, a stakes winning California-bred trained by Jonathan Wong, went off favored in his last start three weeks ago, finished a neck behind King of Speed. Earlier in his career, the grey gelding won the Snow Chief Stakes at Santa Anita.
“I was happy with his trip last time. He really had no excuses,” said Wong. “[Jockey] Irving Orozco rode him and gave him a good ride. [Our Silver Oak] just hung a little bit. He’s a big, long striding horse so the key with him is to keep him going and time it right so he hits the wire in front.”
Cono, an older-half sibling to El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer, is a Kentucky-bred by Lucky Pulpit who has run three times over the Tapeta main track at Golden Gate. Two of those three showings resulted in a trip to the winner’s circle while the lone loss was a respectable effort, as he ran second to a horse in top form at the time.
“Cono is not really like his brother, actually,” said trainer Michael McCarthy. “Rombauer is really laid back. Cono is a little more aggressive. His last start [a loss against stakes company off a layoff] is a total toss-out race. We know he likes the Tapeta, and I expect he’ll run well this time. He doesn’t need the lead but he’s quick enough to where he’ll be close to the pace. He draws a great post position and he should be able to work out a good trip from there.”
Another interesting contender, 4-year-old Ready for a Fight, tries two-turns for the first time. The son of turf router Boisterous is out of a Giant’s Causeway mare and enters this race off a pair of first level allowance wins. Now he tackles tougher company. Stake winners American Farmer and More Power to Him and synthetic specialist Lymebird complete the lineup.
Race 8 on Saturday (Allowance for 4-year-olds and up at one mile and a sixteenth on Tapeta)
#1 Our Silver Oak (Jockey Irving Orozco, Trainer Jonathan Wong)
#2 Lymebird (Catalino Martinez, Angelo Tekos Jr.)
#3 More Power to Him (Kevin Orozco, Faith Taylor)
#4 American Farmer (Frank Alvarado, Steve Sherman)
#5 Fivestar Lynch (Evin Roman, Phil D’Amato)
#6 Ready for a Fight (Kyle Frey, Steve Miyadi)
#7 King of Speed (William Antongeorgi III, Jeff Bonde)
#8 Cono (Assael Espinoza, Michael McCarthy)
ROMBAUER DOING WELL AFTER EL CAMINO REAL DERBY WIN; JOCKEY FREY AND AGENT NAVARRO REFLECT ON “A BIG WIN”
Trainer Michael McCarthy reported that 3-year-old colt Rombauer, winner of last Saturday’s $100,000 El Camino Real Derby, returned to his home base at Santa Anita Park in “good order” earlier this week. In winning the 40th El Camino Real Derby, the son of Twirling Candy was making his first start since a fifth-place finish in the Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile last November.
“Rombauer is doing great,” said McCarthy. “All signs indicate he is a healthy and happy horse. He went back to the track on Wednesday morning. We’re really proud of his effort.”
McCarthy noted that he would observe how Rombauer trains in the coming weeks before mapping out a game plan with owners John and Diane Fradkin.
“At this point, all options are on the table,” said McCarthy. “The good news is he’s pretty fit now with a mile and an eighth race under his belt.”
With the El Camino Real Derby victory, Rombauer earned 10 Kentucky Derby points. Heading into this weekend, Rombauer sits sixth on the list with 14 points; he earned 4 additional points last fall when finishing second in the Grade I American Pharoah Stakes as a 2-year-old. Rombauer also picked up an all-expenses-paid, free berth into the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. This year, the Preakness will be run on Saturday, May 15.
Winning rider Kyle Frey, who also piloted Zakaroff to a 48-1 massive upset in the 2017 El Camino Real Derby, was thankful for the opportunity to hop aboard his second El Camino Real Derby winner.
“I’m eager to watch Rombauer [on the Derby trail]. I’ll be rooting for him,” said Frey. “He really showed a nice turn of foot down the stretch. It was a real honor to ride for Mr. McCarthy and [owners] Mr. and Mrs. Fradkin.”
Frey is off to a flying start at the current Winter/Spring meet. The third-generation horseman has posted the most wins out of any rider so far, with 28 victories from 109 mounts, boasting a 26%-win percentage. He has also earned the most purse money out of any rider, with $550,898 in winnings. Frey was gracious when asked about his success, noting that every victory is the result of a team effort.
“The trainers and their help-the grooms, the hotwalkers, everybody working on the backstretch-they deserve the credit,” said Frey. “They get the horses ready to go. I just feel really blessed to be given some wonderful opportunities to ride good horses.”
Frey, born and raised in the Bay Area, is excited for the remainder of 2021.
“Everyone in our racing community is working hard to make the show go,” said Frey. “The management team at Golden Gate is doing an amazing job and pursuing new and innovative ideas to help us grow. The owners continue to support the product and supply our backside.”
Frey’s jockey agent, Fernando “Shoes” Navarro, was all smiles’ days removed from an El Camino Real Derby victory. For Navarro, it was a cheerful yet emotional win.
“When I was a little kid, my Uncle Juan would take me to Bay Meadows,” said Navarro. “He loved horse racing and the El Camino Real Derby was one of his favorite races. He loved [1994 El Camino Real Derby winner] Tabasco Cat and [1996 El Camino Real Derby winner] Cavonnier.
My uncle passed away a few years ago,” continued Navarro. “I know he was up there cheering Rombauer on. When Rombauer hit the wire, it was pretty emotional. I have a framed photo, right above the TV, of my uncle and I at Bay Meadows. I was looking at the photo and reminiscing about when we would go to the track together. Those childhood memories will last a lifetime.”
Navarro indicated winning the El Camino Real Derby was certainly a highlight of his career in horse racing.
“I’m a Northern California guy and have always loved the ‘Derby myself,” said Navarro. “It’s a really neat race and an important race for all of us Bay Area racing people. I remember I was ecstatic the first time I ever represented a rider in the race. To actually win the El Camino Real Derby…it was a very memorable experience.”
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is the list of claims from last week:
Thursday
Race 6: Year of the Ox (New trainer Jonathan Wong…new owner MJVET Stables)
Race 7: Kincaid Park (Isidro Tamayo…Michael Wickman)
Race 7: Shootin Money (Frank Lucarelli…William Meikele)
Friday
Race 1: Sunrise Journey (Dan Markle…Bruce Cudahy)
Race 2: Street Dancing (Owner/Trainer Dan Franko)
Saturday
Race 1: Sharp Move (Owner/Trainer Andreas Psarras)
Race 6: Friday’s At Shady (Jack Steiner…Marriott and Steiner)
Sunday
No claims
Monday
Race 4: Creative Romance (Tim McCanna…Alan Mindell)
Race 4: Miss Indefatigable (Blaine Wright…Blaine Wright Racing Stable LLC and Pascual Garcia)
Race 7: Crookhaven Lass (Owner/Trainer C C Perkinson)
Race 8: Diamond Blitz (Jesus Ramos…Candelario Barragan and Jose Cruz Ramos)
Race 8: Dirt Road Red (Jonathan Wong…Madden Racing)
FINISH LINES: Happy birthday to jockey Julien Couton and trainers Sammy Calvario and Tirso Rivera, all who celebrate their birthdays this week…$31,154 is carried over into the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager heading into Friday’s card…Leg E (the last leg) of the Stronach 5 wager on Friday goes as Race 3 at Golden Gate…Good luck to members of the Daily Gallop Twitter Handicapping Contest. The 72 entrants will be playing all of the races at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.