TRAINER MEIER PRODUCES WITH PRICES
Two “off-the-claim” acquisitions by trainer Monty Meier won for the barn in Race 8 on Friday and Race 9 on Saturday, completing a 75%-win rate for the Meier Stable last week. Both horses left the gate as longshots.
On Friday, Meier scored with 60-1 shocker Coolcross in the nightcap. The race, for 3-year-olds old and upward which had never won two races, was run at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf. The son of Northern Causeway was making his career debut on grass while also going a route of ground for the first time, and was claimed out of a race in January by Meier and owners Brown Cattle Incorporated and William Branch for $12,500.
“One of the co-owners, Brown Cattle [Incorporated], likes having route horses,” said Meier. “In the sprint races [Coolcross] was in, he just didn’t seem to have the kick to keep up. He’s a big, strong horse that has a long stride and we felt now was the time to try him going long. We thought he would stay on a little better in a route race.”
Friday’s victory with Coolcross was extra special for Meier, who was celebrating his 63rd birthday that day.
“It was a good birthday present,” quipped Meier.
The last time Meier won a race on his birthday? Well, it happened once on April 2, 1984 at Sportsman’s Park in Chicago. Meier, a jockey for 12 years before training racehorses, rode 6-year-old gelding Buffalo Ridge to victory in a sprint race. The purse was $4,500.
Meier picked up a second level allowance victory on Saturday with 9-1 shot Harmon. Harmon, claimed by Meier and owner Donna Perrone for $32,000 one race earlier, was taking a bump up in class in his first start for the new barn.
“We watched some of his races before we claimed him,” said Meier. “We knew he liked the Tapeta. [As a yearling] he was purchased for $500,000, so someone obviously thought highly of him at one time. [Sunday’s] race was against a tough field and we thought he’d run well, but we would have been happy if he ran second or third. When he won, we were pleasantly surprised…and obviously very excited. He’s 4 for 6 on Tapeta now. We’ll keep him where he’s at [on Tapeta].”
Meier, a lifelong horseman, has been in the racing game for decades. After finishing his career as a professional jockey, Meier worked under Vincent Timphony, who race fans know as the trainer of the very first Breeders Cup Classic winner, Wild Again. Before going out on his own in 2009, Meier was an assistant for trainers Kathy Walsh and Brian Koriner.
BIG DUKE CONTINUES TO PROSPER, FACES SIX OTHERS IN THURSDAY FEATURE
A $1,200 purchase at the 2019 CTBA Northern California sale, 3-year-old colt Big Duke has won four of eight career races, with two other second-place finishes and career earnings of $100,800. Talk about a bargain buy.
This year alone, Big Duke has already won a pair of allowance races. He seeks to extend the streak to three in Thursday’s featured sixth race, a five-and-one-half furlong allowance for 3-year-old colts and geldings. Big Duke, a California-bred son of Phantom Wildcat, is owned by Derrick Hesselein, Juan Munoz, William Rainford, and David Williams.
So how did trainer Sergio Ledezma, Derrick Hesselein and company pick out Big Duke at the 2019 CTBA Sale?
“I picked [Big Duke] out, actually,” said Hesselein. “I learned a lot about confirmation from Sergio and [trainer] Jeff Bonde. Having the information they taught me, I’m looking at all the stock coming through and I see [Big Duke]. His confirmation-everything looks good-his neck, his hip, his shoulder. He’s solid underneath. I figured he would sell for somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000. He comes through at $1,200 and I started to feel a little unsure because it’s like, ‘Why am I so excited about this horse but nobody else is?’ I don’t have the depth that all these horsemen and trainers have that are standing next to me. We scooped him up for $1,200.”
Hesselein was quick to praise Ledezma for his training job with Big Duke.
“Sergio is a good horseman and he’s very honest,” said Hesselein. “He’s also very patient. He does not rush anything. He gives the horses the time they need to grow. Sergio has done a really, really good job developing [Big Duke].”
When asked about what makes Big Duke special, Hesselein was also prompt in his response.
“You know what? He just tries. No matter what, he just tries,” said Hesselein. “He never quits. He has far exceeded our expectations. We love this horse.”
The feature race on Friday features several other interesting horses with intriguing handicapping angles. Lightinthedarkness returns to the races for the Jonathan Wong barn with fast morning drills leading up to his 2021 debut. In his only career start last year, the Tommy Town Thoroughbreds homebred broke his maiden by 7 and a half lengths at Pleasanton.
The top two finishers in last summer’s Everett Nevin Stakes at Pleasanton, Top Harbor and Tom’s Song, have not made an afternoon appearance since the aforementioned race and return as newly turned 3-year-olds. Top Harbor, by Harbor the Gold out of 5-time stakes winner Reba Is Tops, won the Everett Nevin by a half-length over Tom’s Song, a Steve Specht trainee who won the first 2-year-old maiden special weight of 2020 at Golden Gate last May. Top Executive, yet another who makes his 3-year-old debut off a layoff, won the King County Stakes at Emerald Downs for trainer Blaine Wright last year and enters the Thursday feature with a steady series of workouts.
Rocktillyoudrop began his career at Golden Gate under the care of Bill Delia and broke his maiden at first asking. He was then privately purchased out of the race by trainer Peter Miller and owner Gary Barber. The son of Smiling Tiger returns to where his career began. Starter allowance winner Rousing Slammer, who finished fourth at this condition last time out, rounds out the field.
Race 6 (Allowance for 3-year-olds at five and a half furlongs)
1.) Tom’s Song (Jockey Frank Alvarado, Trainer Steve Specht)
2.) Top Harbor (Irving Orozco, Tim McCanna)
3.) Rocktilyoudrop (Evin Roman, Peter Miller)
4.) Lightinthedarkness (Brayan Pena, Jonathan Wong)
5.) Rousing Slammer (D.C. Lopez, Steve Specht)
6.) Top Executive (Kevin Orozco, Blaine Wright)
7.) Big Duke (Kyle Frey, Sergio Ledezma)
NOMINATIONS FOR GOLD RUSH WEEKEND STAKES CLOSE NEXT WEEK
Gold Rush Weekend is right around the corner! Gold Rush Weekend, to be run on Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, is the biggest Northern California horse racing event of the year and features top-class Bay Area horses and stakes caliber Southern California shippers in eight stakes races spanning two days.
For horsemen to nominate their horse(s) to any of the half-dozen stakes on Saturday, April 24, they must do so by Thursday, April 15. To nominate to the pair of California-bred stakes on Sunday, April 25, horsemen have until Friday, April 16 to do so.
Nominations Close for the following races on Thursday, April 15:
• $75,000 California Oaks (One mile and a sixteenth on Tapeta for 3-year-old fillies)
• $75,000 Golden Poppy (One mile and a sixteenth on turf for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and upward)
• $75,000 Camilla Urso (Five furlongs on turf for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and upward)
• $75,000 Lost in the Fog Stakes (Six furlongs on Tapeta for 3-year-olds and upward)
• $100,000 California Derby (One mile and a sixteenth on Tapeta for 3-year-olds)
• $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile (One mile on turf for 3-year-olds and upward)
Nominations close for the follow races on Friday, April 16:
• $75,000 Silky Sullivan Stakes (One mile on the turf for California-bred or California-sired 3-year-olds)
• $75,000 Campanile Stakes (One mile on the turf for California-bred or California-sired 3-year-old fillies)
CLAIMS REPORT
Below is a list of claims from last week:
Thursday
Race 2: Hydrogen (New trainer Isidro Tamayo…new owner Keron Thomas)
Race 4: Sharmel (Reid France…Hat Trick Racing)
Race 6: Raging Waters (Reid France…Hat Trick Racing)
Friday
Race 2: Kate Boss (Rene Amescua…Richard Barton)
Race 7: Perfect Wager (Jonathan Wong…Johnny Taboada)
Saturday
Race 5: Thrill’s Legacy (Owner/Trainer Victor Trujillo)
Race 7: Argosy Fleet (Salvador Naranjo…Silvia Soto)
Sunday
Race 8: Maggie’s Magic (Reid France…Hat Trick Racing)
Race 9: Quick and Dirty (Jamey Thomas…Rob Smolich and Jamey Thomas)
FINISH LINES: Not something you see often: In Race 8 last Saturday, 5 of the 6 entrants (Keeper ofthe Stars, Northwest Factor, Heathers Grey, Babe Didrikson, and Getting Sideways) were gray or roan mares. The only runner in the race who did not sport a gray or roan coat, Sloane Garden, was a chestnut. She ran third…Kyle Frey has made the most trips to the winners circle out of any jockey this meet with 63 victories. Evin Roman sits in second with 56 wins while Irving Orozco is third with 39 first place finishes…Per Gary Dougherty of Racing Stats and Info on Twitter, Kyle Frey holds the fifth-highest win percentage of all riders across the country in the month of March (31.9%)..Jonathan Wong has posted the most wins out of any trainer with 37 victories. Steve Specht holds second place with 20 wins and Tim McCanna rounds out the top three with 19…Happy birthday to Golden Gate cameraman Art Pangelina, who celebrates his birthday today…$64,696 is carried over into the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager heading into Thursday’s card…Leg E of the Stronach 5 wager goes as Race 3 at Golden Gate this Friday.