Speedy Brickyard Ride Aims to Make Grade in San Carlos

After turning in a dominating front-end victory against 10 other California-breds in the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint Stakes Jan. 16, Brickyard Ride is scheduled to try a graded stakes for the first time in the $200,000 San Carlos Stakes (G2) March 6 at Santa Anita Park.

With victories in three of his past four starts, Alfred Pais homebred Brickyard Ride is one of nine older horses entered in Saturday's seven-furlong tilt.

Trained by Craig Lewis, Brickyard Ride boasts a record of 4-0-1 from five career starts on the Santa Anita dirt. Two of those wins have come against open company, one in a starter optional claiming race and one in an allowance optional claiming race.

One new challenge for Brickyard Ride will be stretching out to seven furlongs for the first time on dirt. All of the 4-year-old son of Clubhouse Ride's previous main-track races at Santa Anita have been at six furlongs and his lone career start beyond that distance was a one-mile starter race early last year on the Santa Anita turf.

While that added furlong will be a new wrinkle for Brickyard Ride, other major contenders in Saturday's race are switching gears more dramatically.

Jay Em Ess Stable homebred Extra Hope will make his 5-year-old debut after securing his first stakes in 2020. Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Extra Hope won the Native Diver Stakes (G3) Nov. 21 at Del Mar after previously earning several placings in graded stakes tests. The son of Shanghai Bobby followed his clear victory in that 1 1/8-mile race with an off-the-board finish in the Dec. 26 San Antonio Stakes (G2).

Extra Hope raced exclusively in two-turn races last year. The San Carlos would mark his first sprint start since a third-place finish in the seven-furlong Damascus Stakes in November 2019 at Santa Anita.

Also cutting back in distance—and returning to dirt—in the San Carlos is champion 2-year-old male of 2019 Storm the Court. While victory eluded the son of Court Vision  last season, he continued to show talent, placing in half of his eight races, including runner-up finishes in a pair of graded stakes on turf and third-place finishes in a pair of graded stakes on dirt.

Trained by Peter Eurton for owners Exline-Border Racing, David Bernsen, Susanna Wilson, and Dan Hudock, Storm the Court has been training swiftly since a seventh-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) in his 4-year-old debut Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park. He has earned the bullet in two of his three most recent works.

Entries: San Carlos S. (G2)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, March 06, 2021, Race 8

• Grade II
• 7f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 3:52 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Storm the Court (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Peter Eurton	5/1
2	2Extra Hope (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	122	Richard E. Mandella	4/1
3	3Major Cabbie (LA)	Flavien Prat	120	Peter Miller	8/1
4	4Manhattan Up (KY)	Tiago Josue Pereira	120	Philip A. Oviedo	20/1
5	5Strongconstitution (KY)	Florent Geroux	120	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
6	6Brickyard Ride (CA)	Alexis Centeno	120	Craig Anthony Lewis	3/1
7	7Exaulted (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Peter Eurton	10/1
8	8Loud Mouth (CA)	Abel Cedillo	120	Steve Knapp	8/1
9	9Tigre Di Slugo (CA)	Joel Rosario	120	Mike Puype	5/2