January 25:
Race 5 on the card was won by the Tim McCanna trained Classy Chasie. He made a strong closing run on the rail to win by a head over Moon House– Ricky Gonzalez gave this son of Creative Cause a tremendous ride. Classy Chasie was coming off of a 3rd behind the talented Anothertwistafate. His win now makes it 3 next-out winners from that December 9th maiden race.
The 7th race was the feature, and it was a 62.5k Allowance/ Optional claimer going 1 1/16m on the tapeta. Mithqaal sat a patient trip on the rail behind the leaders. As the pace began to collapse up front, leading jockey Abel Cedillo wheeled him out into the 3-path and kicked clear to win by 1 length. His prior form was much stronger on the turf, but it was no surprise to see a son of Speightstown find success on the all weather surface. Trained by Jonathan Wong, Mithqaal now has 7 wins from 32 starts. Respect the Hustle ran a strong 2nd at big odds, and his last race going 5f definitely tightened the screws for this route run. 3rd place went to Montu– he did a good job to hold on for 3rd after being close to the quick fractions early.
Jockeys: Both Alvarado and Cedillo scored 2 wins on the day.
Trainers: Midwest trainer Larry Rivelli had a huge day with 3 wins on the card– he took races 3, 6, and 8.
January 26:
Trainer Quinn Howey did a great job having He’s a Habanero ready to win off of a 1-year layoff. He got away from the gate slowly and Catalino Martinez made a move on the backstretch to get him back into a solid position. This son of Peppered Cat finished up strongly in the lane to break his maiden. He ran the 5 1/2f in 1:03.51.
The 8th race on the card was a 6f 50k Starter Allowance on the main track. American Currency was rated in a perfect position behind the leader and was able to sweep past him on the turn under Juan Hernandez. He took the lead at the top of the stretch and cruised to a dominant 4 length victory. It was his first win since being claimed for $16,000 by John Martin back in November.
Perla Rose swept the field off their feet in the 5 1/2f finale by 2 lengths. She went to the front under an aggressive ride by Catalino Martinez, and never looked back. This 3yo daughter of Run Brother Ron broke her maiden in her 4th lifetime start. Debut runner A Lonna At the Top had a very eventful trip and showed a lot of promise by closing fast for 2nd. 3rd place went to the favorite, Tanya Komarova.
Jockeys: Catalino Martinez had a very strong day– he had 3 wins from 5 mounts. Also, William Antongeorgi had a nice day with 2 wins on the card.
Trainers: Both Jonathan Wong and John Martin bagged 2 winners.
January 27:
It was prices galore on Dollar Day Sunday at Golden Gate Fields. 45/1 and 68/1 winners bookended the card.
Silken Queen has steadily improved for trainer Victor Trujillo after being claimed for 6,250 back in August. Since the claim, she has won at the 12.5k claiming level, and now at the Starter 50k level. In the 8th race on the card, she broke from post 8 and was sent off at odds of 11/1. She stalked the pace on the outside, and had a nice sustained bid in the stretch to win by a head. Silken Queen ran the 6f in 1:11.59.
Thankfully, horses do not know their odds when they’re running. Race 9 on the card was a 5 1/2f Maiden Special Weight for 3yos. Coming off some slow-timed drills, In Our A was sent off at odds of 68/1. This son of Idiot Proof broke very alertly and showed a lot of early speed to secure a spot just behind the leader. Jockey Cristobal Herrera took control of the race on the turn and had enough saved for the stretch to win by 1 length. The Ellen Jackson trainee stopped the clock in 1:04.19.
Jockeys: 7 of the 9 races on the card were won by different jockeys. Leading jockey Abel Cedillo had 2 wins on the day- he won race 5 aboard Carnaby Cat and race 8 aboard Silken Queen. Cedillo extended his lead to 10 in the standings.
- Cedillo *34* 2. Hernandez *24* 3. Martinez *16*
Trainers: All 9 races on the day were won by different trainers. Jonathan Wong expanded his lead to 12 in the trainer standings.
- Wong *22* 2. Wright *10* 3. Delia *9*
There will be a new ‘Horses to Watch’ list dropping on Wednesday, so be on the lookout for that.
Racing resumes on Thursday with a 7-race program– first post is 12:45pm. Also, due to the big prices on Sunday’s card, there is a $32,733 Late P5 carryover (races 3-7). Along with the P5, the .20 jackpot Golden Pick 6 has a $77,127 carryover.
NorCal Horse Racing News 