Inside the Trip: Callback's Las Virgenes

Callback winning the Las Virgenes Stakes on Jan. 31. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswires)
Callback went to the lead in the Las Virgenes and never looked back, riding the rail throughout and holding on for a narrow win. For the most part, everyone else did a load of running behind her, though. Note the extra distance traveled for the next three finishers, and those added feet converted to lengths.

Light the City was beaten a half-length, while Achiever’s Legacy was four behind Callback and Majestic Presence 6 ½ behind. Callback averaged 37.4 MPH through the race while Light the City cruised at an average click of 37.7 MPH, and recorded the quickest final eighth in 12.52 seconds.

Blistering early fractions in the Palos Verdes Stakes enabled Conquest Two Step to collect the pieces and pull clear for a fairly comfortable win in this contested sprint. Distinctiv Passion, Secret Circle and Big Macher all ran on for the lead and opened a sizable gap on Conquest Two Step who settled well off them in fourth. Following an opening quarter than went in 21.21 seconds, the pacemakers were well softened for Conquest Two Step, who ran the final quarter in 23.95 seconds and glided past a tiring Secret Circle on his way to the win. Wild Dude ran a fairly equivalent final panel in 24.01 seconds, while Secret Circle was third-fastest in the final two furlongs, home in 24.64 seconds.
Za Approval just can’t catch a break. After being floated very wide in his last start at Gulfstream Park, covering the longest trip in his first try for trainer Mark Casse, the gelding yet again was the farthest traveler in the Arcadia. This one, however, came without the not-so-gentle nudges he endured in his last start, and was instead a product of a wide draw and race dynamics. Za Approval was beaten just more than a length by Avanzare, who covered the second widest trip, but traveled the equivalent of an extra 2 ¼ lengths.

Rarely do we see older males make two starts in graded stakes on opposite ends of the country just three weeks apart – Za Approval did it, and picked up extra travel points for the wide journeys in both races.
Sunday’s San Vincente saw sophomores scheming for first-Saturday-of-May spoils over seven furlongs. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red could only run second to Lord Nelson, but both turned in respectable performances. Texas Red rallied from last and recorded the fastest final quarter and eighth, home in 23.57 and 11.80 seconds compared to Lord Nelson’s splits in 23.89 and 11.98.
Florida Stakes Recap
Tampa Bay Downs took center stage in the Sunshine State with the Sam F. Davis Stakes for the three-year-olds. Stonestreet’s Ocean Knight was wide from the break in gate eleven and fought with longshot Divining Rod through the stretch, earning the win by a neck. But at the finish, Ocean Knight proved his mettle given the added ground he had to cover – specifically, 49 feet more than Divining Rod, a distance approximating to an extra 5 ¾ lengths. That pair were well clear of the remainder of the field.

A hearty two-mile affair topped the Saturday proceedings at Gulfstream with Unitarian emerging a much-the-best winner, and proving you can still produce some decent times coming home after such a long race. Unitarian ran the final two furlongs in the 16-furlong contest in 23.72 seconds, fastest by 0.75 seconds over second placer Artic North and fourth home Desvelo.
The data story of the race, however, was Graham Motion trainee Tattenham, inexplicably placed in the center of the course for the majority of the race. Tattenham covered 107 feet more than Unitarian, and 142 feet more than third home Reflecting, distances that equated to roughly 12 ½ and 16 ¾ lengths more, respectively. While beaten easily by more than 20 lengths, Tattenham actually averaged the same speed as Reflecting. This particular ground traveled data point is the largest we can recall in a non-steeplechase race.
Mackenzie Kirker-Head contributed to this report.