Siblings Grecian Fire and Sneaking Out were both able to get Allowance wins on today’s card for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. They are both out of the Kitten’s Joy mare Maddie’s Odyssey.
(Race 4: 6f 3yo up ALW/OC 80k n3x) Stakes-winner Grecian Fire was making his first start in 2019 after a long 11-race 2018 campaign that ended in November. This son of Unusual Heat has showed all of his prior success routing, which made today’s race appear as a starting point (since it was at a sprint distance). The 5yo gelding was out-paced early and found himself sitting about 5 lengths off the lead in last. In the lane, he began to grind away and was closing steadily. He was forced to go out into the 6/7-path, and would ultimately find himself getting up by a neck on the line for the win over Summersimage. It was a perfectly timed ride by jockey William Antongeorgi. This should set Grecian Fire up for a nice season, and there are a few options for him in California. He did run in the G3 San Francisco Mile last year, and it would not surprise me to see the connections try that spot again with him. Running 2nd by a neck was a stakes-winner in Summersimage (Grecian Fire ran 2nd in the 2017 Robert Dupret Derby to Summersimage, and was able to reverse the form today). Coming in 3rd was SoCal stakes-winner Tough Sunday. The final time for this race was 1:09.93.
(Race 7: 5.5f 3yo F ALW/OC n1x) Last seen breaking her maiden by 10.5 lengths at Del Mar in September, Sneaking Out was making her 3yo debut today. She figured to be tough in this spot, and she garnered the public support– she was bet down to 4/5. This daughter of Indian Evening sat in a nice patient position in 2nd under Juan Hernandez. Once she was asked in the lane, she kicked on very impressively and pulled away to win by 2.5 lengths. This completed a double on the day for Jerry Hollendorfer. Finishing well for 2nd was Cozze Kid. And GG Debutante 3rd Stealthediamonds returned to complete the trifecta. I always like to speculate where horses might show up next, and there are quite a few spots for Sneaking Out since she is a cal-bred. The 100k Campanile Stakes (April 28th) would make a lot of sense. It is for state-breds, and she has the pedigree– she is out of a turf route winner and is a 1/2 to Grecian Fire who is a stakes winner on the turf. The final time for today’s race was 1:03.63.
(Race 5: 6f 3yo up ALW n1x) Sequentially was coming off a 5th place effort (only beaten 2.5 lengths) at this level last time out, and figured to improve in his 2nd start in the John Martin barn. Today’s race set up a lot better for him, as there was plenty of speed signed on. He broke a lot better today under Frank Alvarado and would settle in 4th early. The son of Forestry kicked on strongly in the 4-path in the stretch and cruised to a going-away 3.5 length victory. He was claimed for 20k 2-back, and looks like he still has a lot of upside. Finishing 2nd was Tanners Pride, and 3rd was longshot Sith Lord. The final time for this race was 1:09.97.
Jockeys: Abel Cedillo, William Antongeorgi, and Hugo Herrera all had 2 wins on today’s 8-race card.
- Cedillo *79* 2. Hernandez *60 3. Martinez *41*
Trainers: Jerry Hollendorfer scored a double to claim 2nd in the trainer standings.
- Wong *53* 2. Hollendorfer *20* 3. Morey *19*
Live racing resumes tomorrow with a 9-race program. First post is at 12:45pm.
Todays full results/charts: http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG032219USA.pdf
NorCal Horse Racing News 