GGF Recap- Impressive Four-Win Day for Wong- 2/9/2019

Jonathan Wong picked things up, right where he left off. Coming off a banner year in 2018 with 128 wins and just over $1.95 million in earnings, Wong has kept a hot hand to start the 2019 season. He came into today with a sizable lead in the trainer standings, and was hitting at a strong 27%. Wong was able to win an impressive 4 races on today’s 10-race card. He took the 3rd with Mad Luther, the 5th with Aotearoa, the 6th with Macho Gabacho, and the 7th with Madame Mousse. Wong has now jumped up to a 19-win lead and has reached 30 wins (29%) for the meet. He is poised for another huge year with the stock he has in the barn, and it would not surprise me to see this talented trainer have another 4-win day this meet.

The feature today was race 9, and it was won by Lymebyrd. This was a First Condition Allowance for 4yos and up going 1m on the main track. He was coming off a strong Starter Allowance win, and was 3rd to Mugaritz two races back. He had solid form lines, and continued to move forward today. The Angelo Tekos Jr tainee relaxed early on and waited for the pace to come back to him. Things set up well in front, and he finished up strongly to win by 2.5 lengths going away.

Also, to not go unnoticed, we saw a visually impressive debut winner for the Andy Mathis barn in Early’s Kid. She got away from the gate slowly in this 6f race, and made a move on the turn weaving through traffic. She found another gear late and kicked on very strongly to win. The time did not come back that quick, but the manner in which she did it was impressive. This is a 3yo daughter of Richard’s Kid, and is a half to Bear Fan Stakes Winner, The Spiral Jetter. There is a lot of precocity in this pedigree too, as her dam’s 1 career race was a 9-length debut win.

Jockeys: Abel Cedillo had a strong day with 3 winners– he had a natural pick 3 in races 7, 8, and 9. Both Catalino Martinez and Luis Ocasio scored 2 wins on the card.

1. Cedillo *43* 2. Hernandez *34* 3. Martinez *20*

Trainers: Jonathan Wong had a monster 4-win day.

1. Wong *30* T-2. Wright, Hollendorfer *11*

Live racing resumes tomorrow with a 9-race Dollar Day card. First post is 12:45pm. It is a stacked card, and the feature (race 8) is a very deep allowance race.

Race 1:

1. West Coast Indy J:Martinez T:Rondan $18.00 $5.40 $3.20
2. Burnthewhiteflag J:Cedillo T:DeLima $3.00 $2.40
3. Pepper Magic J:Hernandez T:Trujillo  $2.60

Race 2:

1. The Pet J:Antongeorgi T:Freeman $4.40 $2.80 $2.10
2. Frisky Fox J:Cedillo T:Hess, Sr. $6.40 $3.20
3. Her Hush Money J:Alvarado T:Rivelli  $2.60

Race 3:

1. Mad Luther J:Ocasio T:Wong $3.80 $2.40 $2.10
2. Lucky General J:Alvarado T:Specht $3.40 $2.60
3. Peppers Ace J:Gomez T:Trujillo  $2.60

Race 4:

1. Early’s Kid J:Couton T:Mathis $4.60 $3.20 $3.00
2. Tibby Gee J:Cedillo T:McLean $5.20 $3.20
3. Miss Monique J:Orozco T:Lucarelli  $5.00

Race 5:

1. Aotearoa J:Martinez T:Wong $6.80 $4.00 $2.80
2. Perfect Come Back J:Cedillo T:McCanna $6.80 $3.40
3. Eagle Screams J:Ceballos T:Bonde  $2.20

Race 6:

1. Macho Gabacho J:Ocasio T:Wong $9.60 $5.20 $3.60
2. Close to Midnight J:Couton T:Meier $9.00 $6.00
3. Make Money for Me J:Martinez T:Delia  $3.40

Race 7:

1. Madame Mousse J:Cedillo T:Wong $4.20 $2.60 $2.20
2. Miss Pretty J:Henry T:Tamayo $3.60 $3.00
3. Our Favorite City J:Herrera T:Monroe  $3.60

Race 8:

1. Plum Wild J:Cedillo T:Hess, Sr. $9.20 $4.00 $2.40
2. May Song J:Gomez T:Moger, Jr. $3.20 $2.20
3. Gracious Me J:Hernandez T:Wright  $2.20

Race 9:

1. Lymebyrd J:Cedillo T:Tekos, Jr. $8.40 $4.20 $3.00
2. Arch Prince J:Quinonez T:Koriner $3.60 $2.60
3. Run Like Rhett J:Martinez T:Wong  $4.00

Race 10:

1. Madi’s Thunderbird J:Hernandez T:Moger, Jr. $6.80 $3.60 $3.20
2. Kopitar J:Martinez T:Delia  $3.20 $3.00
3. Beat the Chalk J:Ocasio T:Gonzalez  $4.40