Follow Me Crev Takes His Shot in Californian

Follow Me Crev's connections were disappointed when a severe quarter crack knocked him out of what they felt would be a big run in the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) earlier in the year, but he's made his way back to the track and will seek his first graded stakes score May 22 in the $200,000 Californian (gr. II) at Santa Anita Park.

Trainer Vladimir Cerin, who calls the Quality Road   gelding a "golden retriever," for his affinity for human company, said Follow Me Crev may not be 100% fit and ready, but now is the time to get him back to racing. Owned by Holly and David Wilson, Follow Me Crev has worked through his allowance conditions by winning his past four races—a turf event at Del Mar in October, a Los Alamitos Race Course route in December, and back-to-back Santa Anita Park dirt runs in January and February.

"He's training really, really well, and I'm not sure he's quite fit enough, but if we don't run Sunday, there's not much we can do before now and the Gold Cup (gr. I, June 25)," Cerin said. "He's run out of allowance races."

A $50,000 claim by Cerin out of a Santa Anita turf race in May of 2015, the big-bodied gelding seemed to figure things out late in his 3-year-old year and Cerin is hoping that carries over to a standout season in the handicap division.

He's encouraged by Follow Me Crev's enthusiastic daily works, as well, under exercise rider Jesse Marquez. That's not to say Cerin hasn't thought highly of his trainee from the beginning of their time together. In his first start off the claim, Cerin ran him in the Los Alamitos Derby (gr. II) and he finished fourth.

"He's a big horse who is a late developer, which happens with a lot of Quality Roads," the trainer said. "He really likes to train. He tries to gallop at a two-minute lick, but Jesse has to talk him out of it. He's such a big horse, you can't yank him out of it. Jesse just talks to him. He's a freight train."

The only graded winner in the seven-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile dirt test is Hronis Racing's Hard Aces, who won the 2015 Gold Cup, but hasn't crossed the wire first in seven starts since for trainer John Sadler. The 6-year-old son of Hard Spun   did, however, hit the board for the first time since the Gold Cup with a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Handicap in March.

Handicap division regular and graded stakes-placed Point Piper, stakes winner Crittenden, and capable allowance victors Lieutenant Colonel, Second Summer, and El Huerfano complete the field.