Get Her Number Wins American Pharoah in Surface Switch
Image:
Description:
Photo: Benoit Photo
Get Her Number wins the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Gary Barber's Get Her Number switched from turf to dirt and pulled off an 8-1 upset in the $301,000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park.
With the victory, the 2-year-old Dialed In colt secured an automatic berth in the Nov. 6 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Association (G1) at Keeneland.
Peter Miller-trained Get Her Number won on Del Mar's grass first time out Aug. 14 and finished a close fourth in the Sept. 7 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes. Jockey Flavien Prat was back aboard Get Her Number on Saturday as the bay colt moved to the main track and stretched out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time.
"We wanted to see how the horse could do in the grass, so we decided to give that a shot," said assistant trainer Ruben Alvarado. "There wasn't anything too quick for him on the turf. We had to take close to a month before coming back to this race. We went back to the dirt and gave him a couple workouts that went well, so we decided let's do it and see if we get lucky or not."
"I thought it was a great move (switching to dirt)," Prat said. "He was a bit disappointing last race. I thought I had good race, easy pace, and he didn't really show a turn of foot. I thought running on the dirt was a good move."
Get Her Number broke sharply from post 6 in the seven-horse field but settled for second as Dyn O Mite grabbed the lead out of post 3.
"I told Prat, 'He breaks well, and you know the horse well. If you can take the lead, then take the lead and we will see how far he can go,'" Alvarado said.
Dyn O Mite set fractions of :23.12 and :47.07 through the first half-mile with Get Her Number stalking on the outside. Spielberg, the even-money favorite, chased in third. After the half-mile, Prat allowed Get Her Number to take over the lead as Dyn O Mite gave way. Get Her Number ran three-quarters in 1:12.46, then opened up down the stretch, gaining a 1 1/2-length lead. Rombauer, an 11-1 shot rallying from last, came running late, but Get Her Number held strong to win by three-quarters of a length.
"We had a good trip; he broke well and he put me in the race," Prat said. "He reacted well on the backside, and by that point I felt in control."
The final time on the fast track was 1:44.92.
"I think Keeneland is the plan," Alvarado said, referring to the Breeders' Cup. "If everything comes off OK and looks OK, I think that is what we will do."
Spielberg finished third, 4 3/4 lengths behind Rombauer. Waspirant, Dyn O Mite, Touchdown Brown, and Notable Exception completed the order of finish.
Get Her Number was bred in Kentucky by Philip Robertson and Brenda Robertson and is the second foal out of the Bernstein mare Fancier. Raymie Lightner, agent for Miller, purchased him privately for $45,000 from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The colt has already made more than that purchase price back with earnings of $219,000.