Alert Bay Seeks Repeat Victory in San Francisco Mile

Alert Bay, G. G. Ryder, and Stryker Phd—the elder statesmen of Northern California—will face off once again at Golden Gate Fields in the $100,000 San Francisco Mile (G3T) April 29.

The multiple graded stakes winners are all exiting the same race—an April 2 allowance on Golden Gate's synthetic main track that Alert Bay won by a length over fellow San Francisco Mile entrant Star Student. It was the 6-year-old City Zip   gelding's first start since a fourth-place run in the Aug. 28 Longacres Mile Handicap (G3) at Emerald Downs.

Trained by Blaine Wright, Peter Redekop's Alert Bay has a field-high 13 wins from 30 starts—including scores in last year's San Francisco Mile (over grade 1 winners Gabriel Charles and Bal a Bali  ), the 2015 City of Hope Mile (G2T), and 2014 Mathis Brothers Mile (G2T)—but G. G. Ryder and Stryker Phd are not far behind, with 12 and 11 wins, respectively.

LEWYN: Alert Bay Holds Tough in San Francisco Mile

Third in the April 2 allowance, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and George Todaro's G. G. Rider won his previous start in another Golden Gate allowance Feb. 26, but that ended a significant winless streak. The 6-year-old Chhaya Dance horse went winless in six 2016 starts, but won a trio of stakes in 2015—the San Francisco Mile, All American Stakes (G3), and Bull Dog Handicap.

Jim and Mona Hour's 8-year-old gelding Stryker Phd, fourth in the April 2 allowance, has done most of his damage on the dirt at Emerald Downs—including Longacres Mile wins in 2014-15—but earned his lone synthetic win by a head over G. G. Ryder in the Nov. 26 Berkeley Handicap (G3) at Golden Gate.

Looking to spoil the locals' party is Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar's Patentar, a French-bred, 6-year-old son of Teofilo who edged grade 2 turf winner Frank Conversation by a neck in an April 23 optional-claiming allowance on the Santa Anita Park turf. Patentar's best performance in stakes company since moving to the barn of Simon Callaghan in 2015 is a second-place finish in the 2016 Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita.

San Francisco Mile S. (G3T)

Golden Gate Fields, Saturday, April 29, 2017, Race 7

• 1m
• Turf
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:54 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1G. G. Ryder (CA)	Irving Orozco	122	Jerry Hollendorfer	5/1
2	2Stryker Phd (WA)	William Antongeorgi III	122	Larry D. Ross	12/1
98	3Patentar (FR)	SCRATCHED	0	UNKNOWN	-
4	4Many Roses (CA)	Abel Cedillo	122	Ellen L. Jackson	8/1
5	5Camino Del Paraiso (CA)	Ricardo Gonzalez	122	O. J. Jauregui	8/1
6	6Alert Bay (CA)	Juan J. Hernandez	122	Blaine D. Wright	8/5
7	7Star Student (KY)	Julien Couton	122	Dan L. Markle	6/1