St. Joe Bay Just Gets By Richard's Boy at Los Alamitos

St. Joe Bay hasn't exactly had an easy go of it since Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler plunked down $62,500 to claim the grade 2 winner in May at Santa Anita Park.

There was a brutal head loss in his first start for his new connections in the June 23 San Carlos Stakes (G2). Then came a fifth in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1), where he was beaten only three lengths by Ransom the Moon  and only three-quarters of a length by two-time TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Roy H. As summer turned to fall, there was a neck allowance loss and a placing in the Comma to the Top Stakes against another standout runner, Battle of Midway.

He was picking up nice paychecks in each start, and, more importantly, he was out there trying, even if slightly—or more than slightly—outclassed.

That effort was on display again Dec. 14 at Los Alamitos Race Course, but this time St. Joe Bay got on the right side of the photo against quality competition.

Up near the pace through all of the five-furlong open allowance Friday, the 6-year-old Saint Anddan gelding was just able to get his head past grade 1-placed Richard's Boy at the wire, with another grade 1-placed Peter Miller-trained contender, Distinctive B, a length back in third (Miller previously trained St. Joe Bay, too, before Sadler and Hronis claimed him).

The final time was :55.89, 21 hundredths of a second off the track record for the distance.

"You think you're going to get an easy spot over there, and you have to go against those kinds of horses," Sadler said with a laugh. "It was a good win for him because he's such a hard-trying horse."

Sadler didn't commit to a definitive target for St. Joe Bay's next start but said he'd be nominated for the Jan. 19 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita, a race he won for Miller in 2017. Before Friday, the Palos Verdes was also St. Joe Bay's last victory.

Bred in Florida by Bonnie Heath Farm, out of the Honor Glide mare Dream Ride, St. Joe Bay now has a 6-7-6 record from 34 starts and $610,515 in earnings.