WRIGHT HOPES HE HAS THE RIGHT FILLIES FOR FRIDAY ALLOWANCE FEATURE
A salty group of 3-year-old fillies contest five and one-half furlongs in Race 7 on Friday, the marquee race of the day at Golden Gate. Trainer Blaine Wright, who saddles Power Surge and Slack Tide in the featured first-level allowance, was quick to point out that his fillies will need to bring their very best efforts to take home the gold medal.
“Pretty nice field, I think,” said Wright of the competition. “Golden Gate at this level…you’re never gonna get it easy.”
Both of Wright’s entrants should be listed as major players. Power Surge, a daughter of budding California-stallion Straight Fire, broke her maiden two starts ago and returned on February 6 to finish as the runner up behind arguably the best 3-year-old filly sprinter on the grounds in Anthony’s Cleopatra. From three lifetime starts, Power Surge sports one win, one second, and one third place finish.
“Power Surge ran a super race last time; I can’t be disappointed with her effort,” said Wright. “She’s come back and worked really good since then. She’s really learning to relax and run on, like we saw last time. I think she can do the same type of thing. It looks like there will be some pace in this race and we’re just going to let her get away from [the gate], get her feet underneath her and go from there.
I don’t think she’ll be as far back as she was last time,” continued Wright. “There was a pretty torrid pace going on in the last race. Then again, we don’t want to let someone get an easy lead either. She’s got speed if we need to use it.”
Slack Tide is the longer shot of the Wright pair. A filly by Shaman Ghost, Slack Tide makes her 3-year-old debut while racing over a synthetic surface for the first time. In two career starts last summer at Emerald Downs, she finished as the runner up in her career debut before wheeling back three weeks later to win the Angie C Stakes-as a maiden-by a decisive three length margin. Both races were run on dirt.
“Slack Tide will be fresh,” said Wright. “She’ll probably be a little precocious on the bridle. In her workouts, she’s been really up on it. I don’t think she has to have the lead, but she’ll be laying close enough. She worked with Power Surge a few weeks ago and they worked pretty good together. [Slack Tide] might not be 100% cranked up for her first out but she’s darn near there.”
In her Emerald Downs stakes win, Slack Tide earned a light Beyer speed figure (39). Wright believes she fits with the field she is up against on Friday.
“Emerald Downs numbers don’t match up with Golden Gate’s at all, but she’s a quality filly,” concluded Wright. “She’s breezed against good horses. She’s gotten bigger and she’s gotten stronger [since her 2-year-old season]. She’s always shown us that she has some quality.”
Irving Orozco rides Slack Tide while his younger brother Kevin retains the mount on Power Surge.
Contention runs deep in Friday’s seventh race. Like Wright, trainer Steve Specht also campaigns a pair of contenders. Tamara Mine comes off a convincing maiden victory and looks to build off that. She will be breaking from the outside post. Meanwhile, stablemate Tam’s Little Angel finished a length and a quarter behind Power Surge for second in the February 6 allowance and draws the rail post position Friday.
Lovely Colleen, likely to get support in the wagering for leading trainer Jonathan Wong, was a low odds winner of a maiden special weight to kick off her career but regressed in her next start, unable to keep up with Anthony’s Cleopatra on February 6. Lovely Colleen was fourth best on the day. She figures to be close to the pace.
Three weeks ago, Dulce Emma beat maiden special weight company by over two lengths after sitting off the pace and producing a strong closing kick. The Jesus Ramos trainee has finished behind Power Surge and Lovely Colleen in past starts and will need to turn the tables in her first start against winners.
Rounding out the field is Miss Union, who easily defeated starter allowance company on February 11 and faces tougher this time around for trainer Isidro Tamayo. Although she is the co-longest shot on the morning line, she is the only runner in the race that has won at this condition. As a 2-year-old last year, Miss Union scored a gate-to-wire win on dirt at Fresno and, being a California-bred, is eligible to win at this level once more.
The first race on an 8-race Friday program kicks off at 12:45 PM PT. Gates open at 10 AM.
Seventh Race on Friday (1st level allowance for 3-year-old filles at 5.5 furlongs)
#1 Tam’s Little Angel (Jockey Armando Ayuso…trainer Steve Specht…morning line odds of 9-2)
#2 Power Surge (Kevin Orozco…Blaine Wright…3-1)
#3 Miss Union (William Antongeorgi III…Isidro Tamayo…8-1)
#4 Dulce Emma (Pedro Terrero…Jesus Ramos…4-1)
#5 Slack Tide (Irving Orozco…Blaine Wright…8-1)
#6 Lovely Colleen (Evin Roman…Jonathan Wong…7-2)
#7 Tamara Mine (Frank Alvarado…Steve Specht…9-2)
WHITE-HOT MCCANNA SEEKS A LATE DOUBLE SWEEP ON SATURDAY
Life is good for trainer Tim McCanna. The longtime West Coast horseman has won with 15 of his 61 starters at the current Winter/Spring meet, equating to a strong 25%-win clip. He also had a sensational fall meet to end 2021, winning with 28% of his 53 runners.
“We have a good group of horses back there [at the barn],” said McCanna. “You take the ups with the downs.”
A pair of allowance races for fillies and mares 4-years-old and upward comprise the late Daily Double sequence on Saturday afternoon. McCanna saddles a contender in each race.
In Race 8, a one mile and a sixteenth route, McCanna tightens the girth on Gea. A daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, Gea was purchased privately by owners Thelma and Louise Stables LLC after a conditioned claiming win at Woodbine Racecourse in Canada. Woodbine has a synthetic racing surface, so moving to Golden Gate’s Tapeta main track was an easy transition.
“She was purchased with the purpose of running on the synthetic here at Golden Gate,” said McCanna.
In her first start for the McCanna barn on February 18, Gea shipped south to Santa Anita Park to compete over turf in a one mile $25,000 claiming race. She raced towards the back of the field throughout and beat one horse home.
“There is a ship and win incentive at Santa Anita, so we picked up a $5,000 bonus just for running,” said McCanna. “We got a race into her. I think she’s a better synthetic horse, and she wants to run a little farther [than a mile]. She trains like she’ll run all day on the synthetic. She’s put on some weight and blossomed since she got to [Golden Gate].”
Don’t expect her to be anywhere close to the pace early, says McCanna.
“She’s a closer,” confirmed McCanna. “She doesn’t really have a sharp move, but she has sort of a steady, grinding move. We need a good pace scenario. We entered her a few times in a race that wasn’t filling, so we’re taking a shot in the allowance on Saturday.”
In Race 9, stakes winning sprinter Rebalation is back to the races after a second-place finish behind the talented Sadie Bluegrass in a high-quality starter allowance. She is projected to go off as a heavy favorite in the Saturday nightcap for sprinters. Rebalation is known for her flying finishes from the back of the pack and, last year, won the 6-furlong Bear Fan Stakes employing a last to first running style. This Saturday, she competes in a five-and-one-half-furlong sprint.
“She is better at six furlongs,” said McCanna. “Even so, she’s pretty honest so she’ll come running. We’d like a hot pace and a half-way decent trip where she doesn’t have to go too wide.”
Both halves of the late Daily Double are part of the Golden Hour wagers at Santa Anita every day in which Santa Anita and Golden Gate run concurrently. The 9-race Saturday program at Golden Gate begins at 12:45 PM PT.
POST POSITION THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR LORD BRANCUSI IN SUNDAY ALLOWANCE
The connections of Lord Brancusi have been patient. Since the beginning of his career in 2020, Lord Brancusi has taken two consecutive, long vacations after physical ailments limited him to competing in just three races in a span of 16 months. One of these lengthy breaks came after his first start, from October 2020 to May of 2021, and the other began in June of 2021 and ended last month.
Lifetime start number four came in his most recent afternoon appearance-his first start off an eight-month layoff on February 20-and the result was encouraging. Sent off at 9-2 in a first level allowance, the 5-year-old grey gelding went to the lead, never got a breather while setting fast fractions, sprinted home in the final furlong before eventually getting tagged late by race winner Long Lance. Lord Brancusi earned a career high 85 Beyer speed figure.
This performance gave his connections the feeling that their patience may finally be paying off.
“I was extremely pleased [with his last start],” said Lord Brancusi’s trainer Jonathan Wong. “The winner is a nice horse. He came out of his last race good and worked a half mile last weekend. He’s always been a really good work horse.”
Lord Brancusi breaks from the inside post in a field of 10 in Sunday’s seventh race-his second start off an 8-month vacation. This scenario, says Wong, ensures the type of tactics that will be employed in Sunday’s first level allowance co-feature.
“The rail [post position] forces our hand,” said Wong. “Under the right circumstances, I wouldn’t be concerned if he stalked the pace. But we drew the inside, so we’re going to have to send and go.”
In 2020, Lord Brancusi began his career under the care of Jamey Thomas and won on debut in impressive fashion. According to Wong, Lord Brancusi has been well regarded since Day 1. He possesses the pedigree to be a decent horse, by multiple Grade 2 winner Dominus out of a South American Group 1 winning mare who has produced 2 other winning siblings.
“He always trains like a good horse,” said Wong. “He’s a really good-looking horse and he’s naturally quick.”
Among the main challengers set to tackle Lord Brancusi is California-bred R M C Hook’em, who drops out of stakes competition and has already won at this level once before. Also entered is improving gelding Murphys Tiger, Counting Cards, who seeks his fourth win in a row, and Our Bold Prince, who has hit the board in his last two races at this condition.
An 8-race Sunday card ends our racing week, with the first race set to go off at 12:45 PM PT.
Seventh Race on Sunday (1st level allowance for 4-year-olds and upward at 5.5 furlongs)
#1 Lord Brancusi (Jockey Brayan Pena…Trainer Jonathan Wong…morning line odds of 2-1)
#2 Murphys Tiger (Armando Ayuso…Tim McCanna…10-1)
#3 Strut to the Wire (Assael Espinoza…Mike Lenzini…10-1)
#4 Stormy Charmant (Julien Couton…Cliff DeLima…20-1)
#5 Offshore Affair (Cristobal Herrera…Greg James…12-1)
#6 R M C Hook’em (Pedro Terrero…Victor Trujillo…9-2)
#7 Our Bold Prince (Irving Orozco…Eddie Rich…6-1)
#8 Counting Cards (Silvio Amador…Isidro Tamayo…6-1)
#9 Torpedo Away (Frank Alvarado…Blaine Wright…8-1)
#10 Sonofafinch (Evin Roman…Jonathan Wong…12-1)
TURF RACING RESUMES NEXT WEEK
While speaking to TVG’s Dave Weaver on Monday afternoon at Golden Gate, Vice President and General Manager David Duggan noted that turf racing would be back in play on Friday, March 18.
“Turf racing will come back earlier than usual,” said Duggan. “We’ll be back on the eighteenth of March.”
One turf race is in the condition book for next Friday, March 18: an open allowance for fillies and mares at one mile and an eighth. Two additional turf races made the condition book on the weekend of March 19 and 20.
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is the list of claims from last week:
Friday
Race 1: Friend of Autism (New trainer Jonathan Wong…new owner Johnny Taboada)
Race 1: No Cover Charge (Owner/Trainer Ryan Hanson)
Race 1: Slew of Fashion (Miguel Ramirez…Baseline Equine LLC)
Race 1: Somara (Isidro Tamayo…John Tipton)
Race 2: My Sunshine (Jack Steiner…Jim Maher)
Race 4: Of Good Report (Bill McLean…Sharon Broetzman, Chris Carpenter, Cheryl Hauck, Kevin Jameson, Bill McLean and Doug Planchon)
Sunday
Race 3: Mount Pelliar (Gary Greiner…Renee Greiner)
Monday
Race 1: Smokinhotredhead (Monty Meier…Browne Cattle Co. and William Branch)
Race 6: Bigfoot City (Owner/Trainer Tim McCanna)
Race 6: Pappy Boyington (Jack Steiner…Randy Marriott)
Race 6: Satanta (Jesus Ramos…Esmeralda Alvarado, Candelario Barragan, Luis and Salvador Ruiz)
Race 8: Tam’s Time (Owner/Trainer Dan Franko)
Race 8: Whisper and Wink (Dan Markle…Peerenboom Racing Stables LLC)
FINISH LINES: Rapidly improving The Pharaoh’s Girl faces stakes winner Ima Happy Cat, stakes placed Tip Top Gal, and three others in Race 4 on Sunday, a second level allowance for filly and mare sprinters…Multiple Golden Gate Fields stakes winner Camino Del Paraiso competes in the $100,000 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile at Turf Paradise in Arizona this Friday. The 3-1 morning line favorite will be ridden by Ricky Gonzalez for conditioner O.J Jauregui…On Saturday, the Steve Specht trained Jungle Cry runs in a second level allowance at Santa Anita. The race will be run on the six and one-half furlong hillside turf course. Jockey Tyler Baze has the call…Also in on Saturday at Santa Anita is Psycho Dar, who most recently ran third in the El Dorado Shooter Stakes on February 19. He is entered in a specialized starter allowance turf sprint for trainer Sammy Calvario…Golden Gate synthetic specialist Dynasty of Her Own seeks a graded stakes placing in the marquee race of the day on Sunday at Santa Anita, the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes. Ricky Gonzalez and Jonathan Wong team up…Race 3 at Golden Gate on Friday is Leg D (the second to last leg) of the Stronach 5 wager…The Golden Pick Six jackpot pool begins anew on Friday with the mandatory payout last Monday. The Pick Six attracted over $1.3 million new money on Monday, bet into the $147,000+ carryover. The total pool hit $1.5 million and paid $1,889.78 for a 6 of 6 winning-ticket.