DELIA WINS CTBA TRAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Last month, Golden Gate based conditioner Bill Delia was notified that he had won the prestigious, 2019 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Trainer of the Year award. A ceremony honoring Delia and other various award winners will be held in Southern California on Monday, February 24.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” said Delia. “It’s a real honor to win an award like this. Our stable had a strong run in 2019 and I am very appreciative of all the support from my owners and help back at the barn. We just have to keep it going in 2020.”
Delia, who won with 56 of his 328 starters in 2019, is a staunch supporter of the California breeding program and trains a number of thoroughbreds whose lineage hail from California stallions and broodmares. In fact, two of Delia’s top 2020 prospects are California breds.
Delia is eager to see how stable star Bettor Trip Nick, winner of the Golden Nugget and Gold Rush Stakes last year, progresses heading into his 3-year-old season. The son of Golden State stallion Boat Trip has won all but one race, with his lone career loss coming in his second-lifetime start after setting blazing-fast fractions while dueling on the lead. Although beaten by a nose, he put up a winning effort.
Mollie O’ McEvoy, another 3-year-old of 2020, is a filly by Clubhouse Ride out of the Game Plan mare Mollie O. Her only sibling to race is stakes-placed Angelo’s Pride, also trained by Delia, who has turned into a solid allowance caliber router. Mollie O’ McEvoy kicked off her career with an impressive maiden win sprinting and followed the diploma-earning score with a starter allowance victory going two turns.
“We are very excited about Mollie O’ McEvoy,” said Delia. “She is really nice, and we think she will continue to improve.”
BAY MUZIK BEGINS 2020 WITH A GRADE 2 PLACING AT SANTA ANITA
Arguably the best turf sprinter in Northern California, 6-year-old Bay Muzik kicked off his 2020 with a third-place finish in Santa Anita’s New Year’s Day feature, the $200,000 Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes going five and a half furlongs on the grass.
Setting the pace under jockey Tyler Baze, the son of Maclean’s Music zipped through quick fractions of 22.09, 44.60 and 56.36 before getting passed in the final yards by 2-1 favorite Texas Wedge and Double Touch. Bay Muzik finished a length behind the former rival for the win, an extremely respectable effort, and earned $24,000 for completing the top three placings.
Bay Muzik was fortunate to race on Wednesday. When entries were taken for the race, Bay Muzik drew post 11, the lone also-eligible entrant, and needed a defection to draw into the race. On Wednesday morning, #5 Oiseau de Guerre scratched, and Bay Muzik was then granted a chance to compete.
“I’m really proud of him,” said trainer Ari Herbertson. “I was actually a little frustrated he drew onto the also-eligible list because he was training so well for the race. He worked out of the gate five days before the race and he worked amazing.”
Bay Muzik was claimed for $20,000 in March of 2018 by Herbertson and his father, owner Scott, and since then, has won 5 races from 9 starts with earnings of just about $100,000 for the current connections.
“We’ll see how he’s doing in a couple of weeks and go from there,” said Ari, when asked about Bay Muzik’s next start. “The Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint on January 25 is a possibility. But he is a turf sprinter, and Golden Gate doesn’t have any turf sprints until late April. We are going to have to travel if we want to run him in another turf sprint anytime soon.”
LAURA’S LIGHT IMPRESSES AT SANTA ANITA
Trainer Jamey Thomas and owner Scott Herbertson were quite high on their 2-year-old filly Laura’s Light after a series of fast morning drills leading up to her career debut on November 2. With jockey Kyle Frey in the saddle, Laura’s Light ran to her workouts, easily defeating six rivals in the maiden special weight, 6-furlong event.
Shortly after the race, Laura’s Light was sold to Gary Barber, one of the top thoroughbred owners in North America. Now under the care of Southern California conditioner Peter Miller, Laura’s Light has run twice, with much to be excited about heading into the future.
In her first start for Barber and Miller, Laura’s Light faced 10 other rivals in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar on November 30. The aforementioned Grade 3 was not only her first start against winners but her first try routing and running on grass. Off at odds of 24-1, she set the pace before finishing second to East Coast shipper Alms. Royally bred Princess Caroline, a Chad Brown trainee and a half-sibling to supermare Lady Eli, ran third behind Laura’s Light.
Laura’s Light proved her showing in the Jimmy Durante was no fluke, as she came back in last Sunday’s Blue Norther Stakes at Santa Anita and disposed of her competition, winning the $75,000 stake by a clear and easy 3-length margin. In both Southern California starts, Laura’s Light was ridden by the white-hot Abel Cedillo, who coincidentally rode at Golden Gate for a number of years before making a big splash on the Southern California circuit in the second half of 2019. Currently, Cedillo sits in second, only behind future Hall of Famer Joel Rosario, in the Santa Anita jockey standings.
Laura’s Light is by Constitution, a Tapit colt who is off to a terrific start as a stallion. His first crop raced in 2019, and Constitution already has a duo of talented and well-regarded runners on the Kentucky Derby trail: Independence Hall and Tiz the Law. Constitution is also the sire of Gouverneur Morris, a 9-length maiden winner at Saratoga and runner up in last year’s Grade I Claiborne Breeders Futurity at Keeneland. He will also join the Kentucky Derby trail in the next few months.
LIST OF CLAIMS
Beginning this meet, the Golden Gate Fields News and Notes will offer a list of all claimed horses from the previous week, with their new connections also posted:
Wednesday, January 1:
Race 1: Blushing Bay (moving to the barn of Ari Herbertson, new owners Michael & Dorothy Fried)
Race 5: Sayin Grace (Owner/Trainer Victor Trujillo)
Sunday, December 29:
Race 1: Missionelle (Jonathan Wong, owner MJVET Stables)
Race 6: Whatwasithinking (trainer Andy Mathis, owners Guido Racing, Cimino, Mathis & Rexius)
Saturday, December 28:
Race 6: Katya Antipova (trainer Samuel Calvario, owners Samuel Calvario & Yolanda Fernandez)
Race 7: Crazy Sexy Munny (trainer Blaine Wright, owners Serena August & Wright Racing Stable)
Friday, December 27:
Race 9: Koa Cat (trainer Jack Steiner, owner Randy Marriott)
Thursday, December 26:
Race 1: C C the Bartender (trainer Andy Mathis, owner William Branch)
Race 4: Norwegian (trainer Jonathan Wong, owners Johnny and Marcel Taboada)
Race 6: Pacific Strike (trainer Ari Herbertson, owner Scott Herbertson)
Race 7: Lace (trainer O.J. Jauregui, owner Highland Yard LLC)
Race 9: Three Karyots (trainer Ari Herbertson, owner Scott Herbertson)
FINISH LINES: Happy birthday to all of our thoroughbred horses, who turned a year older in “racing years” on January 1. Each winner on the GGF January 1 race card also received a carrot gift basket…Leg C of the Stronach 5 wager goes as Race 3 at Golden Gate on Friday…Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap third-place finisher Brave Nation is back in action on Saturday afternoon. He competes in Race 6, the allowance feature which includes Emerald Downs stakes winner More Power to Him, stakes-placed Camino Del Paraiso and synthetic specialists Arch Prince, Harmon and Lymebyrd…Good luck to owner Aaron Pewtherer and trainer Ari Herbertson, who campaign Golden Gate Debutante third-place finisher Shanghai Keely in Race 6 at Santa Anita on Friday. Tyler Baze is set to ride in the one-mile allowance affair on dirt…The Golden Pick Six jackpot pool begins anew in this Friday’s wager as we had a jackpot score on Monday of just over $45,000.