Club Aspen Scores Stakes Victory in King Glorious
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Club Aspen wins the King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos
Lawrence Lewis' Club Aspen handled a stretch duel with tenacity and eventually pulled away to score a clear victory in the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes for 2-year-olds Dec. 15 at Los Alamitos Race Course.
The stakes win was the first for the juvenile son of Clubhouse Ride after three other stakes efforts at Del Mar and Santa Anita Park since late August. Club Aspen came into Sunday's two-turn mile off a runner-up finish in a Nov. 30 allowance optional claiming race at Del Mar.
After a short delay and the late scratch of Reddam Racing's Rookie Mistake, who reared in the gate and momentarily wedged himself between the stalls, the favored Tap Back went straight to the front. Under Drayden Van Dyke, Tap Back set fractions of :22.96 and :46 flat for the first half-mile while holding a comfortable lead, followed by Club Aspen, Dapper, and Govenor Cinch.
At the top of the turn, Jorge Velez guided Club Aspen closer to the leader and pressed the pace, but Tap Back maintained a half-length advantage. Heading into the stretch, Club Aspen kept to the task and inched closer to Tap Back, and the two began to duel to the wire. With a sixteenth-mile left to go, Club Aspen was able to overcome his opponent and pulled away to score by 2 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:36.28 on a fast track.
"(Tap Back) was the horse to beat, so I wanted to follow him around the track and see if I could beat him. I liked this colt's maiden win (Aug. 2) at Del Mar," said Velez, who swept riding titles at the three Los Alamitos meets in 2019. "There's a long stretch here, but I like it. You have to be patient. I'm grateful to all the owners and trainers for the success I've had. I love riding here."
With no show wagering, the winner returned $19.40 and $4.80. At odds of 3-5, Tap Back paid $2.40, and Papster got up for third, with Dapper and Govenor Cinch completing the order of finish.
Trained by Craig Anthony Lewis, Club Aspen has a record of two wins and a second from seven starts, with earnings of $118,211.
"He looked like the winner to me every jump of the way. I never had a doubt he would handle the two turns," the trainer said. "He's had some excuses. In his turf race (sixth in the Oct. 6 Zuma Beach), he never had a chance to run. He was in trouble from start to finish, and in the (Nov. 1 Golden State Juvenile) he was compromised by drawing the inside post in a huge field. I think both of those races were better than they appear on paper, and I think he showed it today.''
Bred in California by Harris Farms, Club Aspen is out of the stakes-winning Talkin Man mare Aspen Gal, who finished third in the 2004 Vagrancy Handicap (G2). Club Aspen is the mare's second stakes winner but first black-type winner.