Pee Wee Reese Starts Year With Joe Hernandez Score

Owner Nicholas Alexander started 2018 off with a bang as his homebred Pee Wee Reese, named after the late Hall of Fame shortstop for the Dodgers, grabbed the lead early and stole the show in the $75,000 Joe Hernandez Stakes Jan. 1.

A tough field of 10 older horses lined up for the New Year's Day race, including graded stakes winners Om, Mr. Roary, and Gold Rush Dancer.

Going about 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course, Richard's Boy jumped out of the gate with the lead but was quickly challenged and overtaken by Pee Wee Reese, who left gate 2 with jockey Joe Talamo and went on to set fractions of :21.96 and :44.64 through a half-mile.

The 4-year-old California-bred son of Tribal Rule drew clear in the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:12.37 on firm turf.

"You know, he was life and death to break his maiden on the dirt," Alexander said. "In his (fourth) start, we ran five furlongs down at Del Mar and I think he win by five or six, just as easy as you can win.

"This felt pretty good. He's been a real super horse for us. I loved (his dam, Bluegrass Belle) and unfortunately she died during foaling the next year. And Tribal Rule, he's gone, so he's the only one left. His mom and dad are gone, so hopefully he'll be a stallion for us."

Trained by Phillip D'Amato, Pee Wee Reese broke his maiden as a 3-year-old in August of 2016 and just recently made the jump to graded stakes with a win in the July 4 American Stakes (G3T) going a mile on the Santa Anita turf, and a third-place finish in his most recent outing, the Nov. 26 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar.

"The game plan was to just go out there and if they wanted to catch us, they'd have to try," D'Amato said. "This horse just keeps getting better and better. His weight, his confidence, the way Joe rides him with a lot of confidence—I think that's all making a big difference.

"I think the ultimate plan is the (grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Turf Mile March 10) and we'll see how we get there with him. But he's definitely worthy of that race now. The Cal Cup (Unusual Heat Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles on turf) is tentatively what I'm thinking of for how I'll get him to the Kilroe. Not set in stone, but the plan I had.

"I just don't know how much of today was that he's that fast or just that he makes everything look so easy when does it. When he won first time out going down the hill it looked like he was absolutely galloping and he was six in front. The way he does things on the turf makes it look so easy."

The winner paid $7.20, $4.60, and $3.60 across the board. Graded stakes-placed Next Shares made up ground for second to return $7.60 and $5.80, while Richard's Boy held on for third and paid $3.20.