El Tigre Terrible Scores Upset Win in Speakeasy Stakes

Sent off at odds of 23-1, Slam Dunk Racing and Michel Nentwig's El Tigre Terrible turned in a massive upset win in the $101,755 Speakeasy Stakes Oct. 6 at Santa Anita Park and punched his ticket to the Breeders' Cup World Championships in one fell swoop.

Trained by Peter Miller, El Tigre Terrible broke slowly in the 10-horse field and settled at the rear under jockey Ruben Fuentes. Greg's Diva set the pace through fractions of :20.76 and :43.39 for a half-mile, followed by Alfie Solomons in second and El Tigre Terrible's stablemate, Bulletproof One, who overtook Biddy Duke early for third.

Angled in, El Tigre Terrible saved ground off the pace before advancing up the inside and through the stretch. Cutting a path between Bulletproof One and Greg's Diva, El Tigre Terrible got up just in time to get his head in front at the wire and complete the five-furlong turf sprint in :55.78 on a firm course.

"I had never been on this horse, not even in the morning," Fuentes said. "They were going so quick up front that he settled on his own. I saved ground at the rail, and we had a dream trip. It opened up and he finished strong."

El Tigre Terrible returned $49.20, $21.20, and $12.20.

"It was one of those last-minute entries. It was about 10 o'clock in the morning before entries closed, and I called Nick (Cosato) and said, 'Hey, I think we should take a shot. If I owned the horse, I would do it.' He said, 'Go ahead,' and lightning struck," Miller said. "He showed a lot first time on the grass—he was dead last and finished with a flourish, so onward and upward. My filly Bulletproof One deserved a shot as well. She ran super, but we had to check and wait and came through. A horse freaked out at the gate (Mr. Tip) next to her, so she didn't break well. I'm just really proud of the horses and my whole team, and I would like to thank the owners for the opportunity.

"Ruben is a great young rider and a great young kid. I've been riding him more, and with rides like this, we will be riding him even more."

The victory in the "Win and You're In" Breeders' Cup challenge series race gave El Tigre Terrible an automatic berth in the Nov. 1 Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) at Santa Anita. 

"Sometimes you take a shot and you win, sometimes you embarrass yourself, and sometimes you run 1-2 and it's real sweet," Miller said. "We'll look at the Breeders' Cup, absolutely."

Bred in California by Martin Bach, the 2-year-old Smiling Tiger  gelding is out of the Gotham City mare King City Kitty. He was purchased for $18,000 by Slam Dunk from the consignment of Woodbridge Farm to the 2018 Barretts Equine October Yearling and Horses of All Ages Sale. He has a 3-0-1 record from five starts, with $118,300 in earnings. 

Video: Speakeasy S. (BT)

D K Racing, Radley Equine, Taste of Victory Stables, and Rick Gold's Hit the Road started the afternoon stakes at the Southern California track with a 2 1/4-length victory in the $100,702 Zuma Beach Stakes on the turf for trainer Dan Blacker. 

The 2-year-old More Than Ready  colt raced at the back of the field through most of the one-mile turf test under jockey Victor Espinoza before begin guided five wide in midstretch to take the lead and kick home. 

Bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III, Hit the Road broke his maiden on second asking July 28 at Del Mar. He is out of the unraced U S Ranger mare Highway Mary, who has a yearling filly by Quality Road . Hit the Road was a $200,000 RNA from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment to the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

Video: Zuma Beach S. (BT)

Rounding out the day was Sally and Benjamin Warren's Warren's Showtime, who stalked between horses on the inside under Jorge Velez before making a bid for the lead outside pacesetter Savvy Gal in midstretch. The daughter of Clubhouse Ride  gained the lead nearing the sixteenth pole before drawing off to win by three-quarters of a length, completing the one-mile turf race in 1:35.06. 

Bred in California by her owners and trained by Craig Lewis, Warren's Showtime is out of the Affirmative mare Warren's Veneda, a multiple graded stakes winner whose best score came in the 2015 Santa Margarita Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita. Named California's champion older mare of 2015, Warren's Veneda has a yearling colt by Clubhouse Ride and foaled a filly by the California-based sire Feb. 3. 

Warren's Showtime has earnings of $104,271 from four starts. She is the first black-type winner for Clubhouse Ride, who stands at Harris Farms in California for a $2,500 fee. 

Video: Surfer Girl S. (BT)