Heading into the 800k G3 Sunland Derby, there were 2 main questions that needed to be answered by Anothertwistafate. Could he handle the dirt? And could he sit behind horses? Well, we found out after the race that the short answer to both is “yes”. He broke well and showed speed early. He was tucked in on the rail behind the pace-setting favorite Mucho Gusto. Anothetwistafate took some kickback and had to be patient as he did not have much room to make a move. After being trapped inside, on the far turn Juan Hernandez finally got an opening and wheeled out for the stretch drive, but it would ultimately be too late. He began to finish rapidly down the center of the track, but would run out of real estate. Anothertwistafate finished a nose short behind the Todd Pletcher trainee Cutting Humor. The El Camino Real Derby winner ran valiantly and just had an unlucky trip. He now sits in 12th in the standings with 30 Kentucky Derby points and it will be close to whether or not he will get in. Connections had said entering before the race that they would push on for the Derby with a top 2 finish. If the son of Scat Daddy does not make the cut, he still has the automatic birth to the G1 Preakness tucked in his back pocket– not the worst plan B. Trainer Blaine Wright said after the race that there are few options moving forward. He could go to the Derby, or either the G1 Arkansas Derby/ G3 Lexington, or lastly, prep for the Preakness in the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Anothertwistafate represented Northern California on the main stage, and he has made everyone proud. Even though his pedigree suggests he is bred for turf, he continues to show his talent on both synthetics and dirt.
Saturday:
(Race 8: 1m 3yoUp ALWn1x) Southern California shipper Jungle Warfare was able to get his 2nd lifetime win in 18 starts for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. He had been knocking heads with some strong company down South, and the bit of class relief today seemed to do the trick. He sat in 5th and made a strong move to the lead in the stretch where he was able to hold on very gamely by 3/4 of a length over a lot of late running horses. The 4yo son of Animal Kingdom has been as consistent as they come. He has hit the board in 16 of his 18 starts, and has shown ability sprinting, routing, on dirt, turf, and synthetics. Running 2nd was War Chest. 3rd place went to Lymebyrd, who had one of the most horrific trips I have seen in a long time. He stumbled out of the gate, checked hard at the 7/16ths pole, and had to steady multiple times late. The final time for the race was 1:37.16.
(Race 6: 6f 3yoF MSW) Tip Top Gal was able to score a 12/1 upset to break her maiden. She broke from the rail and was sent to the lead. Nobody went with her and she was able to get brave up front. The field probably thought she was going to come back to them due to her odds, but she didn’t– she went on to score by 3 lengths. This daughter of Old Topper was coming off some subpar performances down South, and was looking to rebound in her first start over an all-weather surface. She was ridden by Silvio Amador and was trained by Marcia Stortz. Running 2nd was the Doug O’Neill trainee Morning Synn. ‘Horses to Watch’ horse A Lonna At the Top was grinding away from the back of the field, but could only manage 3rd. The final time was 1:10.14.
(Race 5: 5.5f 3yo ALW/OC40k n1x) The SoCal shipper Lieutenant Dan was much the best in this allowance race, as he dominated it to score by 4 lengths. He sat just off the leader Boa Nova and responded well when asked by jockey Abel Cedillo. The Steven Miyadi trained son of Grazen now has 2 lifetime wins, and looks like he could be a quality cal-bred sprinter. Mr Paytience and Loud Mouth ran 2nd and 3rd respectively. The final time was a quick 1:03.07.
Jockeys: Silvio Amador led the way with 2 wins on the day.
Trainers: It was a very competitive day, as all 9-races were won by different trainers.
Full Results/Charts from Saturday: http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG032319USA.pdf
Sunday:
(Race 6: 1m 3y0Up F MSW) Kynance was making her 4yo debut, and her first start in North America after 6 career runs in Great Britain. She had 4-runner up finishes coming into this one, so we knew she was on the verge of breaking through. The Canford Cliffs filly was sitting unhurried in 5th on the backstretch. However, once in the stretch, she showed a devastating turn of foot to score by 2 lengths. She ran the final 1/8th in 11.94. Trainer Manuel Badilla has yet another strong European shipper in the barn. Also, it was great to see Irving Orozco back in the winner’s circle for the first time since his injury last fall. Congrats Irving! Running 2nd was the favorite Soothing, and completing the trifecta was Callmejessiejames. The final time was 1:39.50.
(Race 8: 6f 3yoUp F&M ALWn1x) I Love Romance took them gate-to-wire in this allowance feature on Sunday. Apprentice jockey Jorge Velez gave this 4yo Black Seventeen filly a great ride and they were able to hold on by 3/4 of a length over stablemate C C the Bartender– it was a Jonathan Wong exacta. I Love Romance is now 6 for 16 lifetime and is continuing to improve. Running 3rd was Angels N Devildogs. The clock was stopped in a solid 1:10.01.
Jockeys: Julien Couton had a riding double to conclude the weekend at Golden Gate Fields. The jockey colony is super strong and competitive right now with all of the SoCal competition (same goes for the trainers).
- Cedillo *81* 2. Hernandez *61* 3. Martinez *42*
Trainers: Leading trainer Jonathan Wong scored 2 wins on the day. He won race 5 and had the exacta in race 8.
- Wong *55* 2. Hollendorfer *22* 3. Morey *19*
Live racing resumes Thursday with a 7-race card. Also, there have been some European horses confirmed for Gold Rush Weekend by trainers Dermot Weld and Jane Chapple-Hyam. We are still a month away and I am sure we will see some more confirmations of horses both domestically and internationally.
Full Results/Charts from Sunday: http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG032419USA.pdf
NorCal Horse Racing News 