Rye Defends Title in Unusual Heat Turf Classic

In his second start off a lengthy layoff, Joseph P. Morey Jr. Revocable Trust's Rye saved every inch of ground under Kent Desormeax as he successfully defended his title Jan. 26 in the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic Stakes presented by City National Bank at Santa Anita Park.

One of four stakes on Saturday's card restricted to horses bred or sired in California, the Unusual Heat Turf Classic is part of the lucrative Golden State Series, which is sponsored by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. 

Breaking from post 3 in a field of 10 older horses for the 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic, Rye had three horses beat around the clubhouse turn and appeared comfortable as he maintained a stalking position into the far turn under a long hold from Desormeaux. A quarter-mile out, it appeared he would go for an opening three off the fence, just to the outside of Accountability and Joe Talamo, but instead the eventual winner instead dove to the rail and prevailed easily, with 5-2 favorite Ashleyluvssugar hung wide. The final time—after fractions of :24.01, :47.73, 1:11.74, and 1:36.07—was 1:47.56 on firm turf.

"He is one of my favorite horses to ride," Desormeaux said. "The harrowing moment was at the quarter pole, where the horse that was second in flight in front of me (Accountability). I wanted to go around him, and just as I went to go around him, he went to go around the leader, so I literally jumped heels there with Rye, and he did it. He didn't clip heels, but his feet hit the ground, he saw the pocket, and he just dove for it.

"I think it was a tremendous effort, and all of the credit goes to Bill because the horse got a little sour some time ago, probably the last ride that I rode him—he just took me for a gallop, he didn't race at all. Bill brought him back breathing fire today."

A 6-year-old by English Channel , Rye was idle since May 20 and then ran fourth Jan. 10 in a six-furlong tuneup on the all-weather surface at Golden Gate Fields.

"We turned him out and gave him some time (off) up north," trainer William Morey said. "We did that last year, too, with him, and this year we were only able to get one prep race in him. But I like the idea of getting the prep race up there on the synthetic and just keeping him happy and fresh for this race. There are a lot of horses in here that maybe weren't quite as fresh as we were, and it worked perfectly.

"I told my rider (for the race at Golden Gate Fields) that we wanted him to finish well and that if it was safe to gallop on out, and he did.  He is getting older. I'd like to spot his races wisely so I had some options, but I decided to wait and really get him cranked up for this race.  This is one horse that I can say I really know pretty well, and I let him tell me."

Rye was sent off at odds of 5-1 and paid $13.40 on a $2 ticket. Bred in California by H & E Ranch out of the Unusual Heat mare Phi Beta Heat, he notched his second stakes win, improved his record to 9-0-5 from 21 starts, and increased his earnings to $436,118 with the $110,000 score. 

Ashleyluvssugar bobbled a bit at the break but was nonetheless midpack while well within himself around the first turn and onto the backstretch, all the while saving ground under Tyler Baze. Fifth at the quarter pole, he wheeled six wide turning for home and was clearly second-best on the day, finishing 1 3/4 lengths in front of 17-1 shot Accountability.

S Y Sky Continues Comeback Story

Favored in seven out of her eight starts—but not Saturday—Nick Alexander's homebred S Y Sky posted an authoritative half-length win as she led throughout in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint Stakes.

Ridden by Talamo and trained by Phil D'Amato (who picked up his fourth win of the day), the 5-year-old mare by Grazen got 6 1/2 furlongs down the hillside turf course in 1:12.52 after setting fractions of :22.07, :43.98, and 1:06.48.

S Y Sky shot to the lead from post 6 as the 2-1 second choice in a field of eight and was pressured down the hill by Queen Bee to You, who never threw in the towel and claimed the runner-up spot by two lengths over Fiery Lady. Cordiality, who pressed the early pace as the even-money favorite, tired late to finish sixth. 

With the winner's share of $90,000, S Y Sky, who now has two stakes wins, increased her earnings to $457,320 from a record of 5-3-1 from nine starts.

"We're so relieved," said Alexander, who bred S Y Sky out of his Sky Mesa mare Sky Marni. "This mare got pretty badly hurt at Del Mar the year before last, and we didn't think she would make it back. She had a really badly torn tendon, and Phil's done an awesome job at keeping her sound. I'm so thrilled to see her back in the winner's circle. 

"I didn't think she'd come back. Even the vet said, 'She's sound. You can run her. But she's not going to be as good as she was before.' I just don't want her to run on a surface that's gonna hurt that tendon. We're just trying to keep her in places that will keep her sound." 

"It's good to get her back in the winner's circle," Talamo said. "She shows up every time. As you can see, she's never missed a check—you see that in the form. She just skips over the grass. I was actually surprised to see she went :43 and change. She was getting a little pressure, but she did it so easily. This was great."  

"It took such hard work getting her here, and it's very rewarding," D'Amato added. "She had a pretty good injury, and Nick went above and beyond to rehab her. She's come back in great order, and she found the winner's circle in the big race. We're all very happy." 

Touching Rainbows Returns Investment

Touching Rainbows closed a four-length gap with a quarter-mile to run and overhauled pacesetter Richard's Boy to win Saturday's $150,000 California Cup Sprint Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. Trained by D'Amato, the 6-year-old gelding by Aragorn got six furlongs in 1:09.88. 

With Richard's Boy blasting off to a commanding 2 1/2-length lead after the first half-mile, jockey Tiago Pereira was content to bide his time aboard Touching Rainbows, who sat a close third, just to the outside of well-fancied Heck Yeah going into the far turn. With a roughly two-length margin to overcome a furlong out, Touching Rainbows kept to his task while Richard's Boy shortened stride late. 

"I thought maybe Heck Yeah would be a little closer on the pace, but Tiago judged it right when he saw that horse was kind of struggling into the turn," D'Amato said. "He just decided to make his move and go after the horse on the lead there, and we wore him down late."

Off at 3-1 in a field of six older horses, Touching Rainbows, bred by Esembee out of the Gold Case mare Violin Case, paid $8 on a $2 win ticket. 

Touching Rainbows, who was claimed for $25,000 13 starts back on Sept. 30, 2016, picked up his first stakes win for KM Racing Enterprise, Madaket Stables, and Slam Dunk Racing. The victory was worth $90,000—increasing his earnings to $375,382—and improved his record to 7-1-2 from 18 starts.

"I think he loves six furlongs. ... Today he got a track he likes and skipped right over it," D'Amato said. "Hat's off to Tiago. He's not the easiest horse to ride. You have to press the button at the right time, and Tiago did just that."

In a valiant effort, 3-1 Richard's Boy, who was ridden by Heriberto Figueroa, finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of 8-5 favorite Edwards Going Left for second money. 

Listing Strong in Turf Sprint Score

Reddam Racing's homebred Listing rallied four wide turning for home en route to a neck win in the $100,000 California Cup Turf Sprint Stakes.

The 3-year-old colt by Square Eddie , favored at 5-2 with Mario Gutierrez, got 6 1/2 furlongs down the hillside turf course in 1:12.86.

Breaking sharply from post 5 in a field of six, Listing went straight to the front but was soon a comfortable fourth, about 1 1/2 lengths off the lead after a quarter-mile in :44.52. The Ben Cecil trainee rallied strongly when called upon at the dirt crossing. Takeo Squared was always forwardly placed and finished second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Tivan.  

"It was a bit closer than I hoped, but he may have gotten a little tired," Cecil said. "I didn't give Mario any instructions. He knows the horse. He had a good effort last time down the hill, and we had given him a little break prior to that, which he probably needed. Maybe now he'll improve even a bit more."

Out of Reddam's Yonaguska mare Marquis Diamond, Listing picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $137,400. The win marked his second stakes score and improved his record to 2-1 from five starts.