Golden Gate Fields News and Notes: Thursday, September 30, 2021

MCLEAN EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE WITH PROSPECTS C’MON MAN, I’MGONNABESOMEBODY

Celebrations can be short lived for horse trainers. After a sweet victory or an exciting sale purchase, one can only enjoy the moment for so long. There is always more work to be done the next day.

But for Golden Gate trainer Bill McLean, known amongst the Northern California racing community as a positive influence with a laid-back personality, there is always reasons to smile. And when you consider what McLean accomplished last week, most trainers who have the same type of success would likely be smiling for a while too.

Last week, McLean won with three of his five starters at Golden Gate Fields. Two of those horses, C’Mon Man and I’mgonnabesomebody, beat first level allowance foes and may face tougher company in the coming months.

C’Mon Man, a 2-year-old colt purchased for $8,000 at the 2020 Keeneland Yearling Sale, beat a strong field of winners in Friday’s third race. Last month, C’Mon Man won a maiden special weight, also run at Golden Gate. With two consecutive victories, C’Mon Man is “figuring it out,” according to McLean.

“I was very pleased,” said McLean on Friday’s win. “They went fast up front and set it up good for him, but at least he closed well. He came out of [the race] good. I went to check his legs this morning and he chewed on my hat and threw it up in there.”

McLean has always thought highly of C’mon Man and believes the son of Tourist will continue to improve with time and distance.

“He’s a big gelding. He’s smooth and doesn’t hit the ground hard. We gelded him [earlier this summer] and he seems more focused now. We’re gonna back off on him, play around with him for 2 or 3 weeks and then get him cranked for his next race. There’s a sprint stake (The Golden Nugget Stakes) and then a route (The Gold Rush Stakes) in the fall. I think he’ll go on and be a better horse going long.”

In Sunday’s nightcap, 3-year-old gelding I’mgonnabesomebody scored a flashy win in his first try over turf. He earned a career high 83 Beyer speed figure for his effort. I’mgonnabesomebody may be a familiar face with fans who followed Del Mar this summer. In a race on closing week, I’mgonnabesomebody went to the front, set fast fractions, and fended off all challengers for a 58-1 upset victory against starter allowance rivals. His last two races-one in the north and one in the south-have been his only two lifetime route races.

“I really thought he’d run a good race [when he won at 58-1 at Del Mar],” said McLean. “Last weekend, [jockey] Santos [Rivera] and I talked about it in the paddock. I said, ‘You’ll be on the lead or close to it.’ Right before they went into the [far] turn, they sort of swarmed him and I thought, ‘Oh no, we’re in trouble.’ But [Santos] cracked him a couple times and he went on with it. Santos came back and said he had a lot of horse left and that [I’mgonnabesomebody] was kind of just waiting on horses. He came out of the race good, and we’ll look for a second level allowance next.”

“The key to him is routing,” continued McLean. “He ran in a sprint race in August at Del Mar and he sort of propped. He didn’t like the dirt in his face. Jessica Pyfer rode him that day and came back and said she thought he would really like going long.”

While winning races is always rewarding, says McLean, it’s especially exciting when young prospects are improving and developing into quality racehorses.

Hence, the reason to smile over last week’s festivities.

“I used to train some stake horses, but I haven’t had some in a while,” said McLean. “It’s nice to maybe have some. It’s easier to get up in the morning, mate.”

STAKES COMPANY LIKELY NEXT FOR WELL-BRED COLT TOP HARBOR

3-year-old colt Top Harbor was a powerful winner of the featured sixth race on Saturday, a second-level allowance sprint versus older runners. Top Harbor, sent off at odds of 3-1, stalked a blazing fast pace before closing in and running by race favorite and eventual runner up finisher War Games.

On Wednesday morning, trainer Tim McCanna reported that Top Harbor emerged from his race in good health, and that the California-bred son of leading Pacific Northwest stallion Harbor the Gold would likely face stakes company at Fresno on Saturday, October 9.

“He came out of the race good,” said McCanna. “There’s a race at Fresno, the Harris Farm Stakes, for Cal-breds. It’d be coming back pretty quick [two weeks], but it’s a good purse and if he’s telling us he’s happy and good to run, we’ll take a shot there. He ran the best race of his life at Pleasanton and the dirt at Pleasanton plays the same as Fresno. I think it’s his best surface.”

McCanna’s Pleasanton reference is recognizing Top Harbor’s effort in the Oak Tree Sprint last July, when he finished a neck behind Law Abidin Citizen. The aforementioned rival came back to place fourth, only beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Grade I Bing Crosby at Del Mar. Earlier in the year, Top Harbor ran third behind eventual Grade 2 Del Mar Derby winner None Above the Law in the Alcatraz Stakes on Gold Rush Weekend.

“I think he’s a late running sprinter,” said McCanna. “He can route okay and we might try him routing again at some point, but for now we’ll keep him at one turn.”

Top Harbor is out of the mare Reba Is Tops, a quality racer herself from 2007 through 2011. During her 30-race career, Reba Is Tops won 14 times, including five stakes, and earned $464,267. As a broodmare, Reba Is Tops has produced five babies, all multiple winners. One of the siblings, 5-year-old mare Rebalation, came with a flying finish in Race 8 on Saturday for McCanna, only to lose by a nose against first-level allowance sprinters. She made up a significant amount of ground late in the stretch, having been about 15 lengths behind the leader early in the far turn.

“[Rebelation] was pretty tired after her race,” said McCanna. “She’s still eligible to win the first-level allowance condition a couple times so we’ll make sure she’s ready and then try it again. Reba Is Tops has been quite the broodmare. Every one of her babies has won maiden special weights and that doesn’t happen too often.”

TAMAYO HOPEFUL BLUE DIVA WILL IMPROVE WITH SURFACE SWITCH

Golden Gate stakes winner Blue Diva seeks to enter the winners circle for the first time this year in Saturday’s ninth race, a second level allowance for filly and mare routers. Nine entrants are scheduled to contest the one-mile distance on Tapeta.

Blue Diva, trained by Isidro Tamayo, was last seen running fourth on the turf behind Dutch Painting and Time Voyage, two Manny Badilla trained runners that are also entered back in the Saturday ninth. Tamayo believes Blue Diva has a chance to turn the tables if she puts her best foot effort. Given the turf-to-Tapeta surface switch for this race…it could happen.

“I definitely think she is best on Tapeta,” said Tamayo. “We’ve had to wait to run her on the Tapeta because sometimes the races we entered her in [on the Tapeta] didn’t fill. We tried her on dirt at Pleasanton and I don’t think she really cared for that track. She can run OK on turf, but she is definitely better on Tapeta.”

Five of Blue Diva’s seven lifetime victories have come on the Golden Gate synthetic main track. Among them: a 6-1 score in the 2019 Miss America Stakes. Her last start on Tapeta came on October 16 of last year when she finished behind next out Del Mars stakes winner and eventual Grade 3 placed mare Never Be Enough. Although there are no other stakes winners in the field in this Saturday’s race, Tamayo understands Blue Diva will need to run her very best to have a shot at the gold prize.

“I’m hoping there’s some pace for her to run at,” said Tamayo. “She does better when she sits off a good pace and runs on. I’d like to see a 48 [half mile time].”

Race 9 on Saturday (second level allowance at one mile on Tapeta for fillies and mares)

#1 Dutch Painting (Jockey Santos Rivera…trainer Manny Badilla…morning line odds of 7-2)

#2 Creative Romance (Armando Ayuso…Tim McCanna…6-1)

#3 Joymaker (Frank Alvarado…Quinn Howey…15-1)

#4 Misty Cat (Irving Orozco…Dan Franko…20-1)

#5 I’m a Rockette (Assael Espinoza…Bill Delia…30-1)

#6 Time Voyage (Pedro Terrero…Manny Badilla…9-2)

#7 Clockstrikestwelve (Evin Roman…Jonathan Wong…5-2)

#8 Blue Diva (Francisco Monroy…Isidro Tamayo…5-1)

#9 Wheal Grace (William Antongeorgi III…Jose Bautista…6-1)

MANDATORY PAYOUTS ON “CLOSING DAY” SUNDAY; FIRST POST 12:15 PM ON SUNDAY, 12:45 PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Sunday marks the final afternoon of live racing at the 2021 Golden Gate Fields summer meet. With that, mandatory payouts will be in play throughout the afternoon.

Both Pick 5 wagers are mandatory payout bets. The Early Pick 5, a low 14% takeout wager every race day at Golden Gate, is a 50-cent minimum play and goes as Races 1-5. The Late Pick 5 sequence is the last five races on the program and offers the same minimum demonization.

The Golden Pick 6 jackpot wager is a 20-cent minimum bet and could have a carryover come Sunday. Heading into Friday’s program, the Golden Pick 6 jackpot carryover sits at $6,058. There will be a mandatory payout in the Golden Pick 6 on Sunday, whether the carryover increases in the next two days or not. The Pick 6 sequence is the last six races on each race card, so the Sunday sequence goes as Races 7-12.

The $1 Rolling Super High Five, a bet which tasks horseplayers to correctly tab the top five finishers in order, is also a mandatory payout wager in the last race of the meet. The Rolling Super High Five is only offered when there are 7 or more starters in a particular race.

Finally, two popular wagers that combine races at Santa Anita and Golden Gate are back in play this week. The $1 Golden Hour Pick 4, a low 15% takeout bet, and the $5 Golden Hour Double will be offered this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

First post time on Friday and Saturday is 12:45 PM. First post for the 12-race “Closing Day” Sunday card is 12:15 PM PT. With horsemen eager to run their horses at Golden Gate, we offer 10 races on Friday, 11 on Saturday, and a dozen more on Sunday.

RACE FOR TOP JOCKEY TIGHTENS UP WITH 3 DAYS TO GO

With three days left at the current summer meet, the race for top jockey remains contentious. In fact, the top five riders in the standings are all seemingly in with a shot to win the title.

Evin Roman has posted the most wins out of all jockeys with 19. Armando Ayuso sits right behind with 17 victories. Pedro Terrero and Catalino Martinez are tied for third with 16 wins apiece and Assael Espinoza rounds out the top five with 15 trips to the winner’s circle.

This week, Roman and Ayuso ride 21 horses. Terrero rides 22 horses, Espinoza has 17 rides and Martinez picked up 12 mounts for the week.

In the trainer standings, trainer Jonathan Wong sits atop the standings with 20 wins from 93 starters (equating to a 22%-win percentage.) Isidro Tamayo (45 starters) and Tim McCanna (31) are tied for second in the standings with 10 wins each. McCanna boasts the highest win percentage (32%) by any trainer with more than 20 starters at the current meeting.

CLAIMS REPORT

Below is a list of claims from last week:

Friday

Race 2: Babe’s Got Appeal (New trainer Jack Steiner…new owner Remmah Racing Inc.)

Race 2: Concise Advice (Sammy Calvario…Marron Road Ventures LLC and Calvario)

Race 2: Traffic Stopper (Gary Greiner…Renee Greiner)

Race 6: Hands Off (Bill Delia…Patricia Ford)

Race 8: Chosen Moon (Isidro Tamayo…Johnny Taboada)

Saturday

Race 1: Brastika (Jonathan Wong…MJVET Stables and Clay Sides)

Race 4: Dr. Hoffman (Isidro Tamayo…Joel Gonzalez)

Sunday

Race 2: Lagatha (Reid France…Hat Trick Racing and Jose Valle)

Race 4: Sunset Star (Jonathan Wong…All Schlaich Stables LLC, MJVET Stables & Steve Melen)

FINISH LINES: 2-time Rolling Green Stakes winner Camino Del Paraiso is entered to compete in the Grade 2, $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at one mile and a quarter this Saturday at Santa Anita. Abel Cedillo rides for trainer O.J. Jauregui…Winter/Spring meet leading rider Kyle Frey has officially moved his tack to Southern California and rides three horses on Friday, three more on Saturday and four on Sunday at Santa Anita. We wish him the best of luck…Also, best wishes to jockey Hugo Herrera, who recently relocated to Arapahoe Park in Colorado…Happy birthday to trainer Matthew Troy and 1/ST Racing COO Aidan Butler, both who celebrate birthday’s this week…After this weekend, live racing at Golden Gate Fields resumes on Friday, October 22 for Opening Day of the fall meet! The fall meet is a 25-day meet that runs through Sunday, December 12. We’ll see you then!