Mayor Cobb has been a horse we have talked about quite a bit on this blog site. As pointed out on ‘Horses to Watch’, the Jonathan Wong trainee did not have a great trip/setup in his last race (where he was narrowly defeated). Today’s race was another 50k Starter Allowance going 1m over the main track. Jockey Abel Cedillo was a bit more aggressive than last time and got him into the race earlier. Mayor Cobb made a move on the far turn and had a nice sustained run in the lane to get up in time over the first time routing Nolongerahobby. The ride today was key, as he was able to get the jump on Angelo’s Pride this time. Nolongerahobby ran a solid 2nd after doing the dirty work up front, and it looks like he has found a home routing. Coming off his victory at this level at long odds, Angelo’s Pride ran on well for 3rd– he could have made things very interesting if he was able to switch onto his correct lead in the stretch.
I’m not sure where we could see Mayor Cobb next, as there are a few ways the connections could go. I am sure there is an allowance race coming up in the condition book, which would be the logical spot. He showed some promise on the turf in his maiden win, but unfortunately there isn’t any turf racing until late March/early April. The waters in the El Camino Real Derby look deep, but his run in the Gold Rush Stakes (behind a next-out G3 placed horse) was promising and he has the pedigree to get the 9 furlongs– I could maybe see him spoiling the party underneath. He’s got the local connections, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them take a shot.
Another performance to look at on today’s card was from Oyster Shooter in the opener. This 3yo filly by Flame Thrower made her debut in a 12.5k maiden claiming race for trainer William Delia. After breaking slow, she showed a very nice kick in the lane to score by 5 lengths.
Jockeys: It was nice to see William Antongeorgi get back to form, as he had a strong day winning 2 out of the 7 races. Abel Cedillo took the lead by 1 in the jockey standings after winning the last race aboard Mayor Cobb.
- Cedillo *20* 2. Hernandez *19* 3. Ocasio *9*
Trainers: Jonathan Wong keeps on rolling, as he took today’s 4th and 7th races. Debbie Winick lit up the tote board in race 6 after winning with 29/1 shot She’s in Luck.
- Wong *13* 2. Delia *8* 3. Wright *7*
Live racing continues tomorrow on the 2nd day of this 5-day race week. There is an 8-race card with a first post of 12:45pm.
NorCal Horse Racing News 