Yiannis Speediest of All in San Pedro Win

In a race loaded with front-runners, the speediest of the speeds came out on top in the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes, a six-furlong test packed with late-blooming 3-year-old talent, April 12 at Santa Anita Park .



Yiannis, a debut maiden special weight winner in January at the Southern California oval, pushed forward early and dug in during the stretch to top second-place finisher Serbian Syclone  by 1 1/4 lengths, albeit in controversial fashion.



Under left handed-urging from jockey Victor Espinoza, the son of Midshipman   owned by Hronis Racing came into the path of Serbian Syclone and Tyler Baze in the stretch, while the pair appeared to be advancing on the eventual winner.



After an extended inquiry, Santa Anita stewards ruled there would be no change in the order of finish, sending Serbian Syclone's trainer, Peter Miller, into a fit of displeasure.



"That's a joke," Miller said. "That's a foul. He's going past, the jockey has to take him in, and changes leads."



Off at 7-1, Yiannis dueled 61-1 longshot Guy Code for the lead early, running the first quarter-mile in :21.49, then extended his lead to a length after a half in :44.19 before reaching out for more to run the six furlongs in 1:09.67 on a dirt course rated fast.

"He broke a step slow and I had to send him, but as soon as we had the lead, it was over," Espinoza said. "I was a little nervous during the inquiry at one point, but then I watched the replay and I felt confident. It was a little close, but we didn't have any contact with Serbian Syclone."



The ridgling hinted at an impressive performance in the San Pedro with his last workout at Santa Anita April 5, when he ran five furlongs in a sizzling :57 1/5.



"He'd showed so much speed in the morning and the reason he cost so much ($560,000) was because, when he previewed at Ocala, he ran an eighth in :09 4/5," winning trainer John Sadler said. "He's really fast."



Another massive purchase, Fox Hill Farms' $610,000 buy Kentuckian, left the gate as the 7-10 favorite coming off an 11-length debut romp to break his maiden at Golden Gate Fields March 7 and appeared to be ready to duel early, but was steadied on the rail heading into the turn by jockey Rafael Bejarano. The son of Tiznow   still performed gamely, bouncing back from the trouble to finish third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Serbian Syclone.



Behind fourth-place finisher Guy Code came Om, who saw his resume inflate over time after beating the likes of One Lucky Dane, Calculator, and American Pharoah—by 7 1/4 lengths—in his maiden-breaking win last time out at Del Mar in August. The son of Munnings   was unable repeat that performance, however, as he lacked the early speed to get into the same front-running style.



The San Pedro winner paid $17.80, $7.60, and $3.60 across the board. Serbian Syclone returned $11.20 and $4.40, while Kentuckian brought $2.40 to show.



Bred in Kentucky by Thorobeam Farm out of the Montbrook mare Eye'll Be Fine, Yiannis now has $81,000 in earnings for his two victories.



Sadler said Yiannis will likely stay at sprint distances for the near future.



"We'll keep him short for a while, because he's so fast," Sadler said. "I'd like a lost-in-the-fog campaign."

Gloria's Angelo, No Problem, and Well Maybe completed the order of finish. The Man was scratched.