Ward 'n Jerry Back for More in San Juan Capistrano

After securing the first graded stakes win of his career earlier this season in the 1 1/2-mile San Luis Rey Stakes (G3T), 7-year-old California-bred Ward 'n Jerry will further stretch out June 21 in the 1 3/4-mile San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3T) on the Santa Anita Park turf.

A homebred for Larry and Marianne Williams, Ward 'n Jerry has improved with age and has found added distance to his liking. The son of Lucky Pulpit earned his first graded stakes placing last year when he rallied from eighth to finish third—just a neck behind winner Oscar Dominguez—in the 1 1/2-mile Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T) on the Del Mar grass in December.

In March he would secure his first graded stakes win in the 20th start of his career in the San Luis Rey, which starts on the hillside course. Sunday's race will start even further up the hillside.

Flavien Prat, who was aboard for the San Luis Rey, will ride.

Trainer Mike Puype believes Sunday's test is a good fit for Ward 'n Jerry, who ran fifth in the one-mile Crystal Water Stakes for California breeds as he geared up for the San Juan Capistrano.

"Looking at the field, there's not that many horses of quality that can run that far, either," trainer Puype said. "It's a good spot ... He's going to be pretty tough to beat in there." 

While Ward 'n Jerry will look for another victory at a distance, trainer Phil D'Amato will try to win the San Juan Capistrano for a second straight year. After scoring with Acclimate in 2019, D'Amato will send out Red King and Kershaw in the eight-horse field.

Campaigned by Little Red Feather Racing, Gordon Jacobsen, and Philip Belmonte, Red King will try to improve on last season's third-place finish in the San Juan Capistrano.

Jockey Umberto Rispoli will be aboard for the first time.

Jay and Julie Manoogian's Kershaw, winner of an allowance-level race on the Santa Anita turf earlier this year, will make his stakes debut in the San Juan Capistrano under Abel Cedillo. The 5-year-old Run Away and Hide gelding ran sixth in only one other grass start, coming in a five-furlong maiden race at Del Mar in November 2017.

John O'Connor's Tintoretto will make his debut for trainer John Sadler after winning two of his six starts in his native Germany. The Maxios colt previously raced in the U.S. in 2018, failing to earn his maiden win in four starts in New York and Florida with prior trainer Mark Hennig.

Richard Mandella, who won the San Juan Capistrano with eventual Horse of the Year Kotashaan in 1993, will send out Siberian Iris, a stakes-winning 6-year-old daughter of Excelebration who will face males for the first time. 

Entries: San Juan Capistrano S. (G3T)

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, June 21, 2020, Race 6

• Grade III
• 1 3/4m
• Downhill turf
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Soberano (FR)	Brice Blanc	122	Thomas Ray Bell, II	30/1
2	2Red King (KY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	122	Philip D'Amato	4/1
3	3Tintoretto (GER)	Ruben Fuentes	122	John W. Sadler	8/1
4	4Siberian Iris (IRE)	Drayden Van Dyke	119	Richard E. Mandella	5/1
5	5Kershaw (KY)	Abel Cedillo	122	Philip D'Amato	6/1
6	6Swamp Souffle (FL)	Jose Valdivia, Jr.	122	Steve Knapp	10/1
7	7Avalanche (VA)	Geovanni Franco	122	Michael W. McCarthy	10/1
8	8Ward 'n Jerry (CA)	Flavien Prat	126	Mike Puype	6/5