The feature race of the Summer Meet at Golden Gate Fields is the Rolling Green Stakes, and it is going to be run on Labor Day Monday. It is for 3yos and Up going 1 1/16m on the Turf and has a purse of 50k. I am going to give some brief thoughts on each of the runners and make a selection.
#1 Restrainedvengence (Brinkerhoff/ Hernandez): The SoCal invader is the ML favorite, and is coming off of a narrow 3rd place effort in the G3 Longacres Mile. This son of Hold Me Back switches back to the turf, which is the surface where all 3 of his lifetime wins have come on. 2 starts back he ran 5th beaten 3 lengths in the Wickerr Stakes (click here for replay) behind Bombard and next-out Pacific Classic winner Higher Power. That day Restrainedvengence closed decently into slow fractions from last with an inside trip. Blinkers also come off here.
#2 Cafe Flavor (Gallagher/ Lopez): Will be making his 1st start off of a 15-month layoff. Only has 5 works since he resumed training. Went 5f in 1:01.00 in a solo drill on August 25th (click here to view workout). Looked fine for a turf horse but this race seems like a starting point. Gallagher 10% off a 90+ day layoff. Cafe Flavor’s last race was an A/OC going 9f on the GGF lawn, where he closed well to be 3rd by 1/2 a length. 8.5f seems a bit sharp. Will be running late.
#3 Builder (Tamayo/ Couton): Has strong local form. The Gio Ponti gelding is 2/4 at GGF this year including a 2nd place effort in the G3 All American Stakes on the main track. Sports an Allowance win on the GGF turf course from April. In his last race, he was sent off as the favorite in a 16k STR ALW at Del Mar (click here for replay). Had a bit of a wide trip and was under heavy pressure on the far turn. He looked done, but once in the stretch, he found his stride and finished up decently. Grinding type. Maybe a return to his home track will get him back on form.
#4 Lymebyrd (Tekos Jr./ Orozco): A horse that we saw score some eye-catching wins at the beginning of the year. Is coming off a nice 25k A/OC win on the main track (click here for replay). His races at 1 1/16m have been respectable even though 1m seems to be his preferred distance. 0 for 9 on the grass, but has hit the board 4 times (including a late closing 3rd behind Mugaritz on 12/31). Solid turn of foot.
#5 G.G. Ryder (Tamayo/ Antongeorgi): The now 8yo former SF Mile winner finds himself in a new barn. Tamayo is 11% with new acquisitions. Ran 2nd in a 20k claimer on the dirt at Pleasanton last time out. Has speed and we could see him on the lead to ensure a solid enough pace for stablemate Builder. Is well off form, but maybe the trainer change will get him back in the right direction.
#6 Wicked Old Fashion (Trujillo/ Amador): The 5yo mare takes on the boys here. Coming off a 62.5k A/OC score last week (click here for replay). Does her best running on the lead. Ambitious spot but is coming off her best win to date.
#7 Tortosa (Bautista/ Martinez): Last seen winning the 75k Alcatraz Stakes over this turf course in May of 2018 (click here for replay). Has a very long worktab that dates back to early May. Sports a 7f work in 1:29.00 on Aug 3rd, but then shows a 3 week gap between that and his last work. Bautista is 10% off of a 90+ day layoff. Numbers are well behind, but should show improvement from a 3yo to 4yo. Faces toughest competition yet here. Will be trying to close late.
Pace scenario:
Wicked Old Fashion is the fastest early, and you’d have to think she would be on the front end here. G.G. Ryder has shown speed in the past but is certainly not a speed type– new connections could send to help his stablemate. He seems to be the key to race, depending on his running style. I see Builder getting used a little early to grab a rating position in 3rd. Lymebyrd is pretty versatile and will likely be 4th or 5th with Restrainedvengence. Tortosa will probably have to take back a bit from the outside post and Cafe Flavor seems the most void of speed early.
Selections: 1-4-3-2
Restrainedvengence– The class lines and recent form are too strong for me to ignore. While he has shown his best ability at 1m, I think he will be able to handle the 1 1/16m distance. He should sit a nice ground saving trip under Juan Hernandez and close late to win.
Lymebyrd– Has shown a lot of versatility, and I really liked his race on the grass against Mugaritz last year. Coming off a solid win and should be ready to fire 2nd off the layoff.
Builder– Should appreciate getting back to a GGF turf course that he has a win over. Grinding type, and I don’t really like that in a field with not a ton of speed– the closers will be a lot closer to him, and I don’t know if he has the turn of foot to repel them.
Cafe Flavor– While I do think he wants further and might need one off the long layoff, I still feel like he could hit the bottom of the superfecta. Will drop out of it early and be flying late for a piece.
NorCal Horse Racing News 