Berkeley, Calif. (June 13, 2020)- 3-year-old colt Kanderel shipped North from his home base at Santa Anita Park in Southern California and won Saturday’s feature race at Golden Gate Fields, the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes for three-year-olds on firm turf.
Trained by Richard Mandella, Kanderel stalked the pace and produced a strong closing late kick, taking the lead in midstretch before outfinishing runner up Ajourneytofreedom for the victory. Kanderel finished a head in front of the aforementioned foe and was two lengths clear of multiple Golden Gate Fields stakes winner and Alcatraz third place finisher Bettor Trip Nick. Governance, Mylittlerunaway, Darnquick and Zimba Warrior completed the order of finish. Kanderel stopped the clock for one mile in 1:36.82 seconds.
Kanderel was bred in Kentucky by his owners, Wertheimer and Frere. The dam of Kanderel, the Storm Cat mare Stormica, won the Richmond Handicap on the Golden Gate Fields grass course in 2005. With the Alcatraz Stakes victory in the bag, Kanderel improved his lifetime record to 2 wins from 6 starts with career earnings of $79,622.
Kanderel paid $4.60 to win, $3.40 to place and $2.60 to show. Ajourneytofreedom paid $10.20 to place and $2.60 to show while Bettor Trip Nick paid $3.60 to show.
The final race card of the 2020 Winter/Spring meet at Golden Gate Fields takes place on Sunday afternoon. First post on the 11-race program is 12:15 PM. Mandatory payouts in the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager, Gold Rush Super High Five and the Late Pick 5’s will be in play on Sunday, and the Late Pick 4 wager on Sunday has a guaranteed pool of $250,000. The Late Pick 4 goes as Races 8-11, with the first leg going being the feature race of the day and the marquee race of the Winter/Spring meet, the $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile for older routers. All four races in the Late Pick 4 sequence will be run on turf.