San Gabriel Stakes Gets Santa Anita Opening Day Started
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Hit the Road wins the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes at Santa Anita Park
The seven grasscutters lined up for the first of six graded stakes Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park are short on recent wins but long on close calls.
The $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T) at 1 1/8 miles on the Santa Anita turf kicks off the traditional opening day festivities of the winter/spring meet—a much-anticipated Boxing Day alternative to lining up to return unwanted Christmas gifts.
Only two of the seven San Gabriel entries won their last race and both of those victories came in conditioned allowance events. The other five look to avenge narrow losses either in their last start or the one previous.
The potential favorite, Hit the Road , qualifies on both counts. The More Than Ready 4-year-old was last seen finishing third, beaten just a half-length for the win, in the City of Hope Mile Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Oct. 2. Before that, he was third in the Aug. 21 Del Mar Mile Stakes (G2T), beaten by one length. Mo Forza won both of those.
The Dan Blacker trainee has won half of his dozen lifetime starts, is 4-for-6 over the course, and missed the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) only because of an untimely fever. Umberto Rispoli jumps off rival Friar's Road to take over the mount from Florent Geroux.
On the minus side of the ledger, Hit the Road has never hit any road longer than one mile.
Friar's Road, a 4-year-old Quality Road colt hailing from Michael McCarthy's barn, has had equally wrenching close calls in his last two outings. He was third, 1 1/4 lengths back, in the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T) at Del Mar Nov. 26 and third, beaten just a head, in the John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Oct. 2.
The question mark with Friar's Road is the distance but from the opposite direction. He cuts back from trips of 1 1/2 miles and 1 1/4 miles in his last two starts. He has run effectively at the San Gabriel distance but that was during his earlier-career campaign on the main track.
The tales of recent woe continue with Indian Peak , a 4-year-old Comic Strip gelding who was third, beaten three-quarters of a length, in the Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar in his last start Nov. 27.
Bob and Jackie , a 5-year-old son of Twirling Candy , was second, three-quarters of a length behind Snapper Sinclair , in a division of the $400,000 TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs two starts back and Majestic Eagle , a 6-year-old gelding by Medaglia d'Oro , was a good fourth in both the Seabiscuit and that same division of the TVG.
Recent success resides in the two outside stalls of the San Gabriel starting gate in the form of Red Storm Risen and Ready Soul . Both are trained by Phil D'Amato.
Red Storm Risen, a 4-year-old gelding by Stormy Atlantic , exits a 4 3/4-length romp in a two-other-than allowance at Del Mar on the day after Thanksgiving. Ready Soul, a 4-year-old More Than Ready gelding, was all out to win by a neck under similar conditions at Santa Anita in his last start on Halloween.
"Both are on the cusp of running in stakes races, both are coming off allowance wins and are doing well, so we're taking the next step up and see what they do," D'Amato said.
Santa Anita Park, Sunday, December 26, 2021, Race 5Entries: San Gabriel S. (G2T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Indian Peak (CA)
Juan J. Hernandez
121
Ruben D. Alvarado
8/1
2
2Friar's Road (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
121
Michael W. McCarthy
5/2
3
3Bob and Jackie (KY)
Jose Valdivia, Jr.
121
Richard Baltas
8/1
4
4Hit the Road (KY)
UMBERTO RISPOLI
123
Dan Blacker
8/5
5
5Majestic Eagle (KY)
John R. Velazquez
121
Neil D. Drysdale
15/1
6
6Red Storm Risen (ON)
Flavien Prat
121
Philip D'Amato
4/1
7
7Ready Soul (KY)
Kent J. Desormeaux
121
Philip D'Amato
6/1
