Accelerate Powers Through Trouble to Win San Pasqual

Hronis Racing's Accelerate and jockey Victor Espinoza went on quite a journey in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) Feb. 3 at Santa Anita Park, but it all worked out in the end.

After a bumped start, the 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  found himself eighth in the nine-horse field, but began to advance in the first turn of the 1 1/8-mile dirt test. By the time the field made it to the backstretch, Accelerate was in contention, fourth and on the rail, behind a trio of horses vying for the lead—Mubtaahij, Top of the Game, and Irish Freedom.

But the pace was slow. The first quarter went in :24.34 and the half went in :48.94, so Espinoza decided to make an early move. Still on the rail, he sent Accelerate for the lead, but he didn't make it through. Tight and on the inside of Mubtaahij, Espinoza had to check Accelerate in the backstretch and dropped back to sixth.

"He broke slow and they were going slow up front," Espinoza said. "I put him in the race and they slowed down even more in the first turn. There seemed to be plenty of room up on the lead, so I thought I'd take a shot and try to speed up the pace. I thought I could make the lead, but when (Mubtaahij's jockey) Drayden (Van Dyke) saw me try it, he completely shut me down. I bounced off the rail a couple times."

Shuffled back through six furlongs in 1:12.85, Espinoza could have changed his path, but decided to stay inside. In the final turn and early in the stretch, Mubtaahij left just enough room, and Espinoza tried again, but this time he made it through.

In the stretch it looked like Accelerate had never lost momentum. The John Sadler trainee, once he got a clear path, shot to the front and kicked away from the field to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

"I took my time, tried a different technique, and just waited until the end," Espinoza said.

But while Accelerate surged away, the San Pasqual drama was not over. Favored Pavel, who appeared to have a head of steam for a stretch run, found himself blocked behind several horses. Jockey Mario Gutierrez tried to split Mubtaahij and Top of the Game with Pavel, but had to check sharply and lost momentum. Once Gutierrez got the 4-year-old Creative Cause  colt to the outside, he was only able to rally for fourth.

Prime Attraction, who spend much of the race in a tracking sixth, closed well on the outside to finish second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Mubtaahij. Top of the Game finished fifth and was followed by Irish Freedom, The Lieutenant, Ike Walker, and Win the Space, to complete the order of finish.

Accelerate covered a mile in 1:38.23 and hit the wire in 1:50.58.

"He got bumped around a little, but this horse showed a lot of guts today," said Sadler assistant Juan Leyva. "He's obviously a really nice horse and he showed it today. We don't really tell Victor anything. He knows how to ride."

"I think he's one of the top handicap division horses around, so he definitely earned his keep today," added owner Kosta Hronis. "It was an exciting race and Victor earned his pay today as well. No doubt."

Sadler was in Palm Springs, Calif., Saturday for his stepmother's 90th birthday.

"I'm kinda glad I wasn't there today," Sadler said. "Did you see that trip?"

The San Pasqual was the third graded win of Accelerate's career, following the 2016 Los Alamitos Derby (G2) and the 2017 TVG San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar. Entering the San Pasqual, he was winless in eight starts at Santa Anita, but placed in seven of those races, including five graded stakes. Bred by Mike Abraham, out of the Awesome Again  mare Issues, Accelerate now has $907,480 in earnings from 16 starts. He was a $380,000 purchase out of the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2014.