CHOO CHOO EMERGES FROM CALIFORNIA DERBY WIN IN GOOD SHAPE
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is off to a hot start at the Winter/Spring meet. From 57 starters, Hollendorfer has won 14 races, which equates to a 25% win percentage. His biggest win to date came on Saturday with Choo Choo, a son of English Channel who defeated five other rivals in the $100,000 California Derby for 3-year-olds. According to assistant trainer Juan Arriaga, Choo Choo came out of the race happy and healthy.
“He came out of the race good,” said Arriaga. “He is eating well. He’s a happy horse right now.”
Choo Choo had a solid resume heading into The California Derby. The 3-year-old colt ran third in The Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita and finished fourth behind Award It in The Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Mile at Del Mar in November. The aforementioned rival is the top 3-year-old turf horse in North America. With the California Derby victory, Choo Choo improved his record to 2 wins, 0 seconds and 3 thirds in 6 lifetime starts, with career earnings of $115,188.
“I’m not sure where [Choo Choo] will run next,” said Arriaga. “I think there is a good chance he runs back in The El Camino Real Derby [on February 17] but Jerry [Hollendorfer] makes those decisions.”
G.G. Ryder, a Hollendorfer barn favorite, also won this past weekend. The 7-year-old by Chhaya Dance defeated a quartette of talented older colts and geldings in a second level allowance race on Sunday. G.G. Ryder, winner of the Grade 3 All American Stakes last May, has won 14 races and earned $666,305.
“G.G. Ryder is a really cool horse. He tries hard every race,” said Arriaga. “Our barn has a lot of horses who are trying hard and running well for us.”
PEGASUS WORLD CUP DAY HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 5
This Saturday, January 27, the richest horse race on the planet takes place at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The Pegasus World Cup Invitational, a $16 million mile and an eighth contest for the best dirt horses in the world, will go as the last of 12 races on the Gulfstream Park card. Gulfstream will offer seven additional stakes races on the undercard as well.
Leading the cast of characters in the 2018 Pegasus is Breeders Cup Classic winner Gun Runner and the Bob Baffert trained pair of Collected and West Coast, both whom finished behind Gun Runner in the ‘Classic. Sharp Azteca, runner up in The Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, and European shipper Toast of New York also figure to be major players.
Bay Area fans can watch and wager on Gulfstream Park at Golden Gate Fields. Golden Gate will have a 9-race program this Saturday, with a special early first post time of 12:30 PM. The gates open at 10 AM for simulcast wagering on Gulfstream and other racetracks such as Santa Anita, Laurel Park, Aqueduct and Tampa Bay Downs.
FINISH LINES: After 16 days of live racing at the Winter/Spring meet, William Antongeorgi III and Abel Cedillo are tied for first in the jockey standings with 18 victories apiece…Trainer Jonathan Wong holds a slender 15-14 lead in the trainer standings over Jerry Hollendorfer…Jockey Irving Orozco picked up two wins on Sunday afternoon to kick off his Winter/Spring meet. Orozco, who has not ridden since November, scored with Let’s Play Ball, who hit the wire first in Race 2, and C R Bullitt, a 3-year-old Washington bred who defeated ten other maiden special weight rivals in Race 9….Trainer Andy Mathis has a pair of 3-year-olds entered to compete in the $100,000 California Cup Turf Sprint Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. His two entrants are Vutzak, who was last seen in The Golden Nugget Stakes in December, and Sunrise Journey, a dominant maiden winner on January 1…Trainer John Martin saddles Roaring Rule in The $25,000 Portland Mile at Portland Meadows this Sunday. Roaring Rule has won a pair of starter allowance races at Golden Gate Fields since being claimed by Martin in July…Golden Gate shipper Drink Til You Drop is also entered in The Portland Mile, but the connections are still debating whether they will run in the race…Happy birthday to jockey agent “Oakland Ron” Freitas, who celebrates his birthday this Saturday, and trainer Steve Sherman, who turns 54 on Sunday.