Galilean Much the Best in King Glorious
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Galilean romps by nine lengths in the King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos
West Point Thoroughbreds' $600,000 purchase Galilean is paying dividends for the partnership that includes Denise Barker and William Sandbrook.
Flashing speed from the start and opening up in the stretch under a hand ride by Flavien Prat Dec. 16 at Los Alamitos, the son of Uncle Mo added the $100,000 King Glorious for 2-year-old California-breds to his résumé at odds of 1-5. He now owns a record of two wins and a second from three starts for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
"He broke really sharp and relaxed well for me," Prat said. "I was confident he would give me a good kick when I asked him. I hadn't ridden him before, but I'd watched the replays of his other two races, so I went into this with a lot of confidence.''
Trying a two-turn mile for the first time Sunday, Galilean inherited the lead out of the gate and raced well within himself through half-mile fractions of :23.92 and :47.35. With splits steadily improving as second choice Our Silver Oak pressed from the outside, Prat shook the reins coming off the turn and Galilean responded by sprinting away from his challenger to score by nine widening lengths at the wire.
Galilean finished the race in 1:35.06 over a fast track, with Our Silver Oak second and Feeling Strong chasing in third.
"That was good. I thought (Our Silver Oak) would try to pressure us, but (Prat) rated him well on the front end," Hollendorfer said. "He went a pretty slow first quarter and half-mile, and a good horse should be able to handle those type of fractions. (Prat) asked him a little bit and got a quick response at the top of the stretch. I thought (Our Silver Oak) tried hard, but he just couldn't keep up."
Bred by Bar C Racing Stables, Galilean is the first winner out of the El Prado mare Fresia. West Point Thoroughbreds bought the colt from the Eddie Woods consignment to the Barretts Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where he topped the sale. Galilean is from the female family of grade 1 winners Hello Seattle, Dance Smartly, Smart Strike, and Full of Wonder.
Showing promise from the beginning, Galilean broke his maiden on debut Sept. 22 in the 6 1/2-furlong Barretts Juvenile Stakes, also at the Southern California track. Finishing second by a neck to Bob Baffert-trained Cruel Intention in the Nov. 3 Golden State Juvenile Stakes at seven furlongs, the two leaders were 16 lengths ahead of the rest of the field.
"We're taking one step at a time with him," Hollendorfer said. "We'll take a good look at a lot of different things, and the fact that he can route makes a big difference. He has speed, and if we can make him tactical as well, we'll be in a lot better position.''
California Chrome took the 2013 edition of the King Glorious prior to a 3-year-old season of four top-level victories: the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, Preakness Stakes, and Hollywood Derby.