What a week of racing at Golden Gate Fields! We saw some thrilling finishes, huge upsets, and breakout performances. Excited to recap Week 2 of the Fall Meet! Let’s get into it!
Friday, Oct 29
On Friday’s program we saw a very impressive debut win by the Tim McCanna trained Unraptured. Word was out on this 2yo son of Uncaptured as he was bet down to odds of 3/5. He settled towards the back early in the race and then jockey Armando Ayuso asked him to make an early move up the backstretch. He was able to sustain that move on the turn and once he got to the stretch he just exploded past loose leader Mob Boss to win going away. Now I have no clue how good Unraptured can be but what we saw on Friday was special and is definitely one to follow going forward. He also has some pedigree to back up the ability as he is a 1/2 brother to 2021 G3 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash winner Jalen Journey. The Golden Nugget Stakes at 6f would have been a perfect spot for him but the 2 week turnaround might be coming up too quick. Keep an eye out for this one.
Saturday, Oct 30
While the Pike Place Dancer Stakes was just a field of 6, we still saw a $52 winner as Vaping Angel pulled off the huge upset. She sat towards the rear early under Pedro Terrero and waited for everything up front to unfold. Loose leader Sen Sen sent from post position 4 and was able to take them all the way to the 1/8th pole before tiring. The closers then began to pounce and it would ultimately be Vaping Angel closing on the inside to pull off the stunning upset. Hindsight is always 20/20, but coming into the race she was the only runner in the field to win going a route of ground. It was a great ride from Pedro Terrero to find a hole up the inside and a great training job by Felix Rondan for having her ready. The maiden Jessebear closed strongly down the outside to get up for 2nd and Code Ribbon was able to finish in 3rd. The favorite Wishing On a Star was under urging on the turn but never picked up. Vaping Angel earned a 60 Beyer Speed Figure and has now pushed her career earnings to $74,826.
Sunday, Oct 31
A collective shock jolted throughout the Golden Gate Fields grandstand when it was announced that Top Harbor had won the photo finish over In Our A in the El Dorado Shooter Stakes. It was a small field but 3 of the top local sprinters lined up in this year’s addition. The favorite War Games assumed his usual front-running position and he was tracked to his inside by second choice In Our A. Third choice Top Harbor got away a little slowly from the 1-hole and found himself at the back early. Once they hit the turn, Top Harbor continued to sustain a move up the rail under Frank Alvarado while In Our A decided to flop outside of War Games for the stretch drive. As the field hit the stretch, it became clear that this was going to be a 2-horse race. Top Harbor and In Our A slugged it out in the final 1/16th and as the dust settled it would be Top Harbor to ultimately prevail. There did not deserve to be a loser in this one, and it ended up being one of the most thrilling races we have seen on this circuit in 2021. Top Harbor ran 6f in 1:09.46, which would earn him an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. Hopefully we get to a rematch of the top 3 in the Oakland Stakes later this meet.
In Sunday’s 5th race we saw a strong maiden-breaking performance from the Jose Bautista trainee, Saint Ives. It was a MSW for 2yos going 1M over the tapeta. This technically wasn’t the first time that Saint Ives has crossed the wire first, as he was DQd turf sprinting on debut. Sunday was his first try on the main track and he seemed to get over the surface well. After taking outside pressure from Midnight Mammoth, Saint Ives was able to stay relaxed and eventually shrug him off to power home to a 1 1/4 length victory. He defeated a solid MSW field and stopped the clock in 1:38.45. While the El Camino Real Derby is 3.5 months away, I do think we could see him on the ECRD trail at some point– a logical next out spot could be the 8F Gold Rush Stakes on December 4th. He certainly has the pedigree to keep stretching out being by Point of Entry and out of a Royal Academy mare. Exciting prospect to follow throughout the Fall/Winter.
Standings:
Jockeys Standings https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbTopLeadersByTrackDisplay.cfm?TRK=GG&CY=USA&STAT=J
Trainer Standings https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbTopLeadersByTrackDisplay.cfm?TRK=GG&CY=USA&STAT=T
Results:
Results for Friday https://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG102921USA.pdf
Results for Saturday https://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG103021USA.pdf
Results for Sunday https://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/GG103121USA.pdf
Also I plan on releasing a Horses to Watch List tomorrow so be on the lookout for that.
Lastly, I just want to say thank you to anyone that has ever read any of my blog posts. I really enjoy doing these and all of the feedback I have received over the years has been so amazing. I started this blog as a fun way to share my passion for horse racing and it has been really cool to see what it has turned into. Thank you!
NorCal Horse Racing News 