GGF Recap- I Love Romance Takes Sunday’s Feature. Wong Completes 8-win Weekend- 2/10/2019

After winning 4-races yesterday, it took just 24 hours for Jonathan Wong to accomplish this incredible feat again. One of these 4 wins came in race 8, which was the 6f Allowance feature. I Love Romance sat in the 3rd position from the far outside post, and ran home strongly to record a neck victory over the stubborn Maycee Jo. It was a very nice ride from jockey Luis Ocasio, who is riding at a strong 19% clip for the meet. Previously her best form prior was on the turf, and she was looking to transfer it to the main track. She was coming off a career best win at the 20k level, and was jumping into the deep end with Allowance fillies here– this new test proved to be no problem for her. The 4yo daughter of Black Seventeen keeps climbing the class ladder, and is continuing to get better. Not to go unnoticed, the other 3 wins for Wong came in races 4, 6, and 9 with Johnny Reb, Thorn Hill Cat, and Private Marini respectively.

‘Horses to Watch’ horse Mr. Diplomat got his diploma, as he graduated from the maiden ranks in the opener. Trainer Blaine Wright saw some potential after the debut, and decided to step him up into protected company. He sat on the rail, stalked the pace, and kicked on in the stretch to win by 3 lengths.

3yo filly Swing Thoughts was able to win an Allowance in Race 5. It was her first try around two turns, and she seemed to relish it. She rated the pace in a wide position all the way around, and then rallied very strongly late to win by a convincing 2 lengths. The Ed Moger trained daughter of U S Ranger has now claimed her 4th win from 13 starts.

Jockeys: Catalino Martinez had a huge 3-win day and continues to sit in 3rd in the standings. The top 2 in the standings, Abel Cedillo and Juan Hernandez, each won a pair on the Sunday program.

1. Cedillo *45* 2. Hernandez *36* 3. Martinez *23*

Trainers: Jonathan Wong extended his already impressive lead after an 8-win weekend. Blaine Wright was able to claim outright 2nd after taking the opener.

1. Wong *34* 2. Wright *12* 3. Hollendorfer *11*

Handle on Sunday’s 9-race program reached an impressive $3,245,122! That is great to see, and hopefully Golden Gate Fields can keep the momentum going into El Camino Real Derby Week.

There will be a new ‘Horses to Watch’ list on Wednesday, so be on the lookout for that.

Live racing will resume Thursday with a 7-race card. First post is at 12:45pm.

Race 1:

1. Mr. Diplomat J:Martinez T:Wright $4.20 $2.40 $2.10
2. Persistence J;Amador T:Delia $3.40 $2.60
3. Bourbon Traffic J:Solis T:Delia  $3.00

Race 2:

1. P H Factor J:Alvarado T:Rivelli $7.00 $3.80 $2.20
2. Nolongerahobby J:Hernandez T:James $3.20 $2.20
3. Classy Chasie J:Gonzalez T:McCanna  $2.40

Race 3:

1. Midnight Special J:Hernandez T:Hess, Sr. $5.80 $3.00 $2.20
2. Two Bills J:Martinez T:Perez $4.20 $2.60
3. Drill Time J:Cedillo T:Josephson  $2.80

Race 4:

1. Johnny Reb J:Cedillo T:Wong $3.80 $2.40 $2.10
2. Holdthismiss J:Hernandez T:Hollendorfer $2.40 $2.40
3. Brownie Finale J:Amador T:Trujillo  $2.80

Race 5:

1. Swing Thoughts J:Hernandez T:Moger, Jr. $6.40 $3.60 $2.60
2. Oh My Oh J:Couton T:Howey $6.60 $4.20
3. Killarney Lass J:Solis T:Lucarelli  $4.20

Race 6:

1. Thorn Hill Cat J:Cedillo T:Wong $7.80 $4.20 $3.20
2. Nowhere Man J:Antongeorgi III T:Tamayo $8.00 $5.00
3. Giant Mark J:Martinez T:Calvario  $2.80

Race 7:

1. Deb’s Wildcard J:Martinez T:Calvario $7.80 $3.60 $2.80
2. Kelly J:Hernandez T:Markle $3.20 $2.40
3. Papaclem’smidnight J:Couton T:DeLima  $4.60

Race 8:

1. I Love Romance J:Ocasio T:Wong $26.40 $11.80 $5.20
2. Maycee Jo J:Antongeorgi III T:McLean $7.00 $4.40
3. Lucky Antares J:Gonzalez T:Specht  $7.40

Race 9:

1. Private Marini J:Martinez T:Wong $4.40 $2.80 $2.60
2. River House J:Herrera T:Franko $8.00 $5.40
3. Awe J:Hernandez T:Offield  $5.40