MAIDEN WINNERS FASCINATED, TRIP TO SPAIN RETURN IN COMPETITIVE FRIDAY FEATURE FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS
Friday’s signature race, Race 7, is a first level allowance for 3-year-olds at six furlongs on the Tapeta. A field of seven are entered to compete.
We begin with Golden Gate leading trainer Jonathan Wong, who saddles a pair of contenders in Fascinated and Stanford Bay. They drew the inside and outside post positions, respectively.
Fascinated, sent off at 7-5 in his career debut on September 4, dueled on the lead and hit the wire second, beaten a head, by unofficial winner Saint Ives. However, after a steward’s inquiry involving the stretch run, the stewards ruled that Saint Ives, who drifted out and made contact with Fascinated at the sixteenth pole, cost his rival the opportunity of a better placing. Fascinated was moved up to first via disqualification.
Fascinated, who competed over turf in the career debut, makes his first afternoon appearance since earning his maiden diploma. He also races on a synthetic surface for the first time.
“We’ve always liked [Fascinated],” said Wong. “[Jockey] Armando [Ayuso] came back after his first race and said he thought [Fascinated] liked the Tapeta more. We just ran him on the turf because that’s the race that popped up in the condition book and he was ready. He’s always trained really well on the Tapeta.
He might not be 100% cranked, so he might need the race [this Friday], but he’s doing well, and we think he’s a good horse,” continued Wong. “There’s a lot of speed in this race, so I think we break, find a good spot from off the pace and hopefully work out a good trip. I don’t like being on the rail but other than that, he’s coming into the race in good shape.”
Stanford Bay, owned and bred by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, went to the lead and held second in the Golden Nugget Stakes in November. He returned at the first level allowance condition last month and ran poorly after attempting to stalk the pace. Wong was quick to point out what Stanford Bay’s preferred running style is.
“He needs the lead,” said Wong. “When he gets the lead, he always tries hard. We’re going to send him.”
A sophomore sprinter looking to defeat both Wong entrants is Trip to Spain. The California-bred son of Stay Thirsty kicked off his career at Golden Gate with a stylish maiden win in July. He shipped to Del Mar two weeks later and ran in the Graduation Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds, setting a pressured pace before giving way to eventual race winner Rock N Rye. Trip to Spain settled as the runner up that day and, after his stakes placing at the seaside oval, was given the rest of the year off.
As a newly turned 3-year-old, Trip to Spain returns to the races with a steady series of drills for trainer Jamey Thomas. Santos Rivera, who was aboard for the maiden victory, reunites with the son of Stay Thirsty.
“He’s doing OK,” said Thomas. “We’re getting him started in this race. He should be fit enough to run well, but this is not the race we’re gearing up to win. There are bigger and better things down the road. I want to see him maybe sit right off [the speed] and see how he finishes.”
Others that add spice to the race include Stormy Samurai, who broke his maiden in fast time before wheeling back in three weeks and finishing fourth at this level. He removes blinkers for trainer Jack Steiner and seeks to rebound. Love Candy finished behind two next out winners-Highland Ghost and Unraptured-in a recent turf start on December 11 and gets back to the Tapeta for trainer Ed Moger Jr. Recent maiden breaker Nuestro Engreido and Tolonisito, who finished ahead of Stormy Samurai for third last time out, round out the field.
8-races are on the docket for Friday’s program, with first post at 12:45 PM.
Race 7 on Friday (First level allowance for 3-year-olds at 5 and a half furlongs on Tapeta)
#1 Fascinated (Jockey Armando Ayuso…trainer Jonathan Wong…morning line odds of 9-2)
#2 Tolonisito (Assael Espinoza…Jesus Ramos…6-1)
#3 Nuestro Engreido (Ruben Fuentes…Felix Rondan…8-1)
#4 Trip to Spain (Santos Rivera…Jamey Thomas…7-2)
#5 Love Candy (Francisco Duran…Ed Moger Jr…4-1)
#6 Stormy Samurai (Evin Roman…Jack Steiner…3-1)
#7 Stanford Bay (Brayan Pena…Jonathan Wong…5-1)
STILLETO BOY UP AGAINST THE BIG DOGS ONCE MORE IN PEGASUS WORLD CUP
Essential Quality. Flightline. Hot Rod Charlie. Knicks Go. Medina Spirit. These were some of the best dirt horses in the world last year, and the Ed Moger Jr. trained Stilleto Boy has finished behind all of them at least once in five starts since moving to California last summer.
At Gulfstream Park in Florida this Saturday, Stilleto Boy makes his 2022 debut in the $3,000,000 Pegasus World Cup, for 4-year-olds and upward at one-mile and an eighth on dirt, Stilleto Boy drew post position 3 in the Pegasus and is listed at 20-1 on the morning line. Regular jockey Kent Desormeaux will be back aboard.
“[Stilleto Boy] shipped in really well,” said Moger, who touched down in Florida on Wednesday evening. “He’s just a really nice horse. He never has a bad day.”
Stilleto Boy won the Iowa Derby last July while under the care of Midwest conditioner Doug Anderson. Immediately following the stakes triumph, the son of Shackleford was put up for sale in the Fasig Tipton July Horses of Racing Age auction. Stilleto Boy’s current owner, Ed’s younger brother Steve Moger, purchased Stilleto Boy for a whopping $420,000.
Although Stilleto Boy has yet to enter the winners circle in five starts for Team Moger, he has strung together extremely respectable efforts against top class company. He finished second in the Grade I Awesome Again Stakes to Medina Spirit in October and returned to run fifth in the Grade I Breeders Cup Classic, picking up a $180,000 check for the latter start. Most recently, Stilleto Boy cut back to 7-furlongs in the Grade I Malibu and finished third behind superstar Flightline. In five starts for Moger, Stilleto Boy has earned $291,000.
Stilleto Boy has no easy task ahead of him. In the Pegasus, he lines up against dual Breeders Cup winners-Classic victor Knicks Go and Dirt Mile champion Life Is Good. Even if Stilleto Boy were to finish behind the top two main contenders, he could still earn a sizeable check. The Pegasus third-place finisher is awarded $290,000 while the horse who hits the wire fourth picks up $145,000.
When asked if he is hoping for a “pace collapse” between the two heavyweights, both who are speed horses, Moger nodded.
“That’s it,” said Moger. “But if we run third, that’s OK too. We know we’re running against some super tough horses. We love [Stilleto Boy]. He just tries hard every race and always does his best. We’ve had a blast with him, running in some big races. It’s been a fun experience.”
Post time for the Pegasus World Cup is 2:34 PM PT. Golden Gate runs nine races on Saturday, with first post set at 12:45 PM PT.
FRANCE UNLEASHES “A LISTERS” ON SATURDAY
Trainer Reid France has quickly become a trainer that must be considered whenever he enters a horse in a race. So far this meet, France has accumulated a 27%-win percentage, picking up six wins from 22 starters, with nine other in-the-money finishes. Last year, France won with 30% of his starters (74 for 249).
This Saturday, France sends out a trio of allowance caliber racers. They are three of the best horses he has. All three appear to be on the up and up, and France is excited to see how they perform.
In Race 7, a first level allowance, France campaigns J T’s Watch and Uncle Fred, both 4-year-olds. J T’s Watch, who hasn’t raced since a third-place finish in September against restricted 3-year-old allowance foes, makes his 2022 debut against “older” company. He sports four workouts leading up to Saturday’s race.
“It would have been nice if we could’ve gotten him another work or two,” said France. “I was really pleased with how he breezed [five furlongs] the other morning. He wasn’t blowing at all after the work. It was a nice work. He’s a closer so he’ll be sitting off the pace. He’ll probably need this race and it will gear him up for his next start.”
Last year, J T’s Watch finished behind quality horses like Jungle Cry, None Above the Law, Stalking Shadow, and Tesoro.
“He has class,” said France. “He’s probably classy enough to run a good race, but this is a good starting spot for him.”
Uncle Fred, in the meantime, has a race under his belt this year. After breaking his maiden at the Los Alamitos Thoroughbred Daytime meet against California-breds, Uncle Fred finished off the board in a January 9 allowance against sprinters. Uncle Fred, by Mr. Big out of a versatile turf mare named Christiana’s Heat, attempts two turns for the first time.
“I’ve always sort of felt he’d be better going longer,” said France. “I’ve always liked him, too. He’s a gigantic horse. He’s got a big, long stride. He’s a beautiful mover. Last time, he was really wide. He broke outside in a big field, and he was never able to get over. He’s not an overly quick horse as it is, but going from those sprints races, I’d imagine he’ll be in a good position early in this race.”
Thirty minutes later, Reid sends out Lagatha in a first level allowance for filly and mare sprinters. In her first start of the year on January 6, Lagatha scored a two and a half-length victory at the first-level condition. Being a California-bred, she is eligible to win at the level once more.
France claimed Lagatha for $12,500 in September. Since then, she has won 3 of 4 races for France, with her lone loss resulting in a better-than-looked second place finish.
“The real key with her is we’ve gotten her to relax,” said France. “She can be quirky. She used to get really nervous before her races. She wasn’t great at the gate. We’ve worked with her a lot on getting her to relax. She’s always had ability and just getting her to relax, now she’s in a good state of mind and she’s putting it all together.”
For France, seeing hard work pay off in the afternoons is as rewarding as anything. With that, there is no time to take the foot off the gas pedal.
“We don’t get days off as trainers,” said France. “We’re working hard and doing the best we can.”
Like the old saying goes…the results speak for themselves.
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is a list of claims from last week.
Friday
Race 1: Galan Gray (New trainer Jack Steiner…new owner Remmah Racing Inc.)
Race 2: Simmer Down (D. Wayne Baker…Richard Barton)
Race 3: Quick Time (Arnold Torres…David Bishop)
Race 3: Shanghai Mist (Owner/trainer Reid France)
Saturday
Race 1: Elusive Virtue (Owner/trainer Steve Miyadi)
Race 1: Hypersonic (Salvador Naranjo…Silvia Soto)
Race 2: Will Is Chill (Jonathan Wong…Lucas Downs Ltd.)
Race 3: Maxinamillion (Isidro Tamayo…Marron Road Ventures LLC and Tamayo)
Sunday
Race 8: Squared Shady (Aggie Ordonez…McLean Racing Stables)
FINISH LINES: Sloane Garden races for trainer Manny Badilla at Santa Anita on Saturday in the $100,000 Grade 3 Megahertz for fillies and mares at one mile on turf…Badilla also tightens the girth on Lotsa Pepper in Race 1 on Saturday at Santa Anita, a starter allowance for filly and mare turf sprinters at 5 furlongs…Congratulations to jockey William Antongeorgi III and his wife Jenn, who welcomed daughter Hailey into the world last week…The Golden Pick Six jackpot carryover sits at $36,184 heading into the Friday program…Also on Friday: in the first race, the Rolling Super High Five bet has a carryover of $13,553. If the race scratches down to six or less horses, the Rolling Super High Five carryover will be moved to the next race in which the wager is offered…Happy birthday to trainer Steve Sherman, who celebrates his birthday later this week.