San Onofre Too Strong in Midnight Lute
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Photo: Benoit Photo
San Onofre and Alex Solis take the Midnight Lute Stakes.
San Onofre dispatched pacesetter and last year's winner Distinctiv Passion in early stretch and held favorite Salutos Amigos at bay to win the $100,000 Midnight Lute Stakes (gr. III) for older sprinters Jan. 2 at Santa Anita Park.
Ridden by Alex Solis, San Onofre tracked Distinctiv Passion from second before seeing off that rival and posting his first stakes win after a trio of stakes seconds in four starts last year. He was timed in 1:14.82 for 6 1/2 furlongs on a fast track and won by a half-length.
The win provided trainer Karen Headley her first graded stakes win and San Onofre paid $10, $4.40, and $2.60. Salutos Amigos returned $3.40 and $2.40, and Pulling G's paid $2.60 to show for his third-place finish, 1 3/4 lengths back.
Bred in California by Headley's father, trainer Bruce Headley, and owned by his wife Aase's Matson Racing, 5-year-old San Onofre is by Surf Cat, out of the Native Regent mare Marrakech Gold, and improved his career line to 5-4-0 from 10 starts.
Solis hustled San Onofre from the gate and settled him into second going into the turn. Sitting behind fractions of :21.72, :44 and 1:08.53, San Onofre was put to a vigorous drive leaving the three-eighths pole, took charge a furlong out, and held off 9-5 favorite Salutos Amigos late.
"He's been training really, really good," Solis said. "He's a different horse these last six months. He's a different horse in the mornings. You can see it. He's stronger and happier, and he showed it today.
"Karen and Bruce and myself, we'll all sit down and discuss what's best for him and go from there."
San Onofre was returning after six months off, following his fourth in the Triple Bend (gr. I) June 27 to cap the year. Prior to that, he posted runner-up finishes in the Donald Valpredo California Cup Sprint in his stakes debut to start 2015, followed by the Kona Gold Stakes (gr. II), in which he was second to eventual multiple grade I winner Masochistic in April, and the Los Angeles Stakes (gr. III), where he finshed second to Distinctiv Passion in May.
"His last two sprints he had gone against monsters. Not that this was a soft field, but there was no Masochistic in here," Karen Headley said. "He'll probably come back in the California-bred stakes ($150,000 Donald Valpredo California Cup Sprint at six furlongs Jan. 30)."
Salutos Amigos broke alertly from the far outside in the six-horse field, sat third to the furlong pole and had no apparent excuses in running second.
All Run finished fourth, followed by Raised a Secret and Distinctiv Passion, who weakened in the final furlong from his front-running effort.