The El Camino Real Derby winner Anothertwistafate tried to punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby in the G3 Lexington Stakes over the weekend at Keeneland. 20 valuable Kentucky Derby points were awarded to the winner, and Northern California’s local hope desperately needed those. He ran a valiant race, but once again found himself finishing in 2nd. The son of Scat Daddy got boxed in on the inside and was left with too much to do once he found an opening. He finished up strong on the rail under Javier Castellano but it was ultimately too late. It also appeared like he prefers more ground than 8.5 furlongs. He finished in 2nd by 1 3/4 lengths and only managed to win 8 Derby points. Anothertwistafate is on the outside looking in, and currently sits in 23rd place with 38 points– the top 19 will earn a spot in the starting gate. The Blaine Wright trainee is going to need some defections to get in. I personally feel like it is going to be 50-50 wether or not he will make the race. Connections have stated they will run if they can get in, and he is going to stay in Kentucky to see if anything opens up.
Saturday’s effort earned Anothertwistafate a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, which is 1 point higher than his runs in the Sunland Derby and the El Camino Real Derby. If Anothertwistafate does not make the Kentucky Derby starting gate, he still has an automatic berth into the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown (His El Camino Real Derby win was a Win and You’re In for the G1 Preakness). He has shown he can run solidly on the dirt, and I think he has the potential to make some noise in the Triple Crown races. One race that I would love to see him run in this year would be the G1 Belmont Derby. He is bred to love the grass (by Scat Daddy out of a 1/2 to a French Oaks winner) and should like the 1 1/4m distance. It should be a fun campaign for his connections, because there are so many different spots for him to excel in.
Friday:
(Race 7: CLM20k 3yo 1m T) While Brilliant Richie was coming off of an impressive 7 length win at the 6250 claiming level, today’s race was a big step up. He ran really well going a route of ground last race, and trainer Jonathan Wong decided to keep him going long— this time he switched him to the grass. The son of Brilliant Speed sat in a nice stalking position going 3 wide. He made a bid for the lead on the far turn and then was able to quicken really nicely in the lane to win by 1 3/4 lengths. This was also the first turf race at Golden Gate Fields since January. Red Clem and Cash Money ran 2nd and 3rd respectively. The final time was 1:37.88.
Race 8: Adorned was able to score a dominant win in his 2019 debut. The 5yo Uncle Mo gelding has had to deal with some layoffs and is lightly raced for his age. After his debut in 2016, he did not make his second start until 2018. Today’s race was back at a sprint distance and his conditioner Blaine Wright did a great job getting him ready for the race. He was towards the back of the pack early, but would steadily improve his position on the turn. In the stretch, he leveled off super nicely to win by 4 lengths over pace-setter Mikes Tiznow. Adorned has now shown success sprinting on the main track, and going long on the grass, so it leaves plenty of options going forward. 3rd went to Tanners Pride. The final time was a swift 1:02.91.
Saturday:
(Race 7: MSW 3yo F 5.5f) SoCal shipper Posit was able to get the job done and break her maiden in career start number 5. Her figures were strong on paper and the 7/5 favorite looked tough on the cutback. The Simon Callaghan trainee was in a nice position sitting in 2nd on the outside of pace-setting first time starter Premiere Lady. She pulled ahead in the stretch to score by 2.5 lengths. First time starter Spanish Magic was able to get up for 2nd, and Premiere Lady held on for 3rd. The final time was 1:03.77.
Sunday:
(Race 5: ALW/OC40k n1x 3yo F 6f) Mucho Amor was making her first start as a 3yo after showing some precocity as a 2yo. The Mucho Macho Man filly won her debut in a 4 1/2f race at Keeneland and was able to run 4th in the G2 Adirondack at Saratoga. She also was making her first start for trainer Blaine Wright. As the gates opened she showed a bit of speed and sat in 2nd behind the pace-setting favorite Stealthediamonds. On the turn she made a move to press the leader, and was able to pull away in the stretch to a 4 length win. She was really impressive in here, and in fact, ran .13 seconds faster than the 3yo colts Allowance race in the 3rd. She has had layoff lines after all her prior efforts, but hopefully she comes out of this one well. Finishing 2nd was Stealthediamonds, and 3rd went to Creative Romance. The final time was 1:09.75.
(Race 7: ALWn1x 3yoUp 1 1/16m T) Builder has proved to be a strong claim for tainer Isidro Tamayo. He has now won back-to-back races since being claimed for 12.5k 2 starts back. Last out he won a 50k Starter Allowance on the main track and this start he was jumping up to face Allowance company on the turf. The 4yo gelding only had one prior turf effort, and it led to a 6-month layoff (so something could have gone wrong from the race). He is by multiple G1 turf winner Gio Ponti, and also his trainer is a strong 20% going from synthetic to turf. Julien Couton got Builder in a great rating position off the pace and made a strong move on the turn. He pulled ahead in the stretch slightly, but then was faced with multiple challenges. Builder showed a ton of heart in the lane and refused to lose– he re-rallied to win by a nose. 2nd place went to Big Buzz and 3rd went to Lymebyrd. The final time was 1:43.08.
(Race 8: ALWn1x 3yoUp F 5.5f) Coming off a solid maiden win in her North American debut, Left Alone was stepping into the deep end against a strong first level Allowance field. The Manuel Badilla trainee was breaking from the 10 post in this field of 11. She sat in 5th early on, and then made an assertive move 3-wide on the turn under leading jockey Abel Cedillo. The daughter of Reckless Abandon powered home strongly in the stretch to win by a convincing 2.5 lengths. Strip it Down ran on well for 2nd, and Gotham Desire held on for 3rd. The final time was 1:03.39.
Jockeys:
1. Cedillo *91* 2. Hernandez *74* 3. Martinez *51*
Trainers:
1. Wong *65* 2. Hollendorfer *26* 3. Trujillo *22*
Live racing resumes Friday with an 8-race card. First post is at 12:45pm.
NorCal Horse Racing News 