Del Secco, Bonde Ship King of Speed for El Camino Real

A week after owner Del Secco DCS Racing and trainer Jeff Bonde upset the San Vicente Stakes (G2) with Sparky Ville, the connections will look to score another important 3-year-old stakes Feb. 16, but this time in Northern California.

Unlike the San Vicente, however, where Sparky Ville beat two short-priced Bob Baffert favorites, multiple stakes winner King of Speed will only have to contend with one in the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, and they share a royally themed name.

Clearview Stables, RAC 04 Racing, and Michael Meegan's Kingly could be the first Baffert entrant in the El Camino Real Derby since he ran Icy Ride in 2014, and his only other starters in the race since it moved to Golden Gate's synthetic main track from Bay Meadows were Carving and Manando in 2013. Baffert's only win in the race came at Bay Meadows with Cavonnier in 1996.

Kingly, a lightly raced Tapit  colt, was also entered for the Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) Saturday, but Baffert told the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots publicity department he would not run there. Baffert did not respond to requests for comment about Kingly's entry at Golden Gate.

The El Camino Real Derby not only offers points toward a start in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), but for the first time offers the winner an automatic berth into the Preakness Stakes (G1).

As for King of Speed, who won a pair of grass stakes in Southern California at 2, he wrapped up his juvenile season with a last-place finish in the Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity (G1). He has yet to place in three dirt starts, but Bonde is not concerned about the surface for the Jimmy Creed  colt.

"He didn't really fire a lick that day, and three days after the race he had a temperature, but now he's back and doing well," Bonde said of the Los Al Futurity. "I just don't think he had his best day that day, and Jimmy Creeds will run on any surface."

Along with King of Speed and Kingly, a large contingent from Southern California will populate the 13-horse field, including a pair from the barn of Doug O'Neill, who won the El Camino Real in 2016 with Frank Conversation .

Like Frank Conversation ahead of his El Camino Real win, Alejandro Mercado's The Creep has experience at Golden Gate. A West Virginia-bred Twirling Candy  colt, The Creep won a starter allowance on the Golden Gate turf in October, then finished second in the Dec. 1 Gold Rush Stakes on the synthetic main track. Since then, he's finished fourth and fifth in a pair of grass races at Santa Anita Park. O'Neill's other entrant is maiden winner Weekly Call.

"The added (1 1/8-mile distance) is going to do them both a lot of good," O'Neill said. "A mile and an eighth on the synthetic takes a pretty mature horse with good stamina. That's a pretty demanding race, and I like that both of our horses are mentally mature and physically mature."

Other Southern California-based entrants include Irish handicap winner Eagle Song, who will make his third start for trainer Mark Glatt; turf allowance winner More Ice; maiden victor Knight's Cross; and winless Royal Insider, who hasn't finished closer than 9 1/2 lengths behind the winner in four maiden special weight tries.

The local hopes appear to be landing on the speedy Anothertwistafate, a Scat Daddy colt who began his racing career in a six-furlong sprint at Santa Anita in November (ninth). The $360,000 sale purchase owned by Peter Redekop then led at every point of call to break his maiden going two turns at Golden Gate Dec. 9 and used his speed again to beat beat fellow El Camino Real entrants Rey Coliman and Data Hawk handily in a two-turn first-level allowance Jan. 4 at Golden Gate.

"He's always showed he was a good horse," said trainer Blaine Wright. "From day one, the way he handled himself and in his workouts—he handled all the 2-year-olds in my barn easily, so we worked him with 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.

"We're hoping he'll continue to grow, but we're in the same boat as a lot in (the El Camino Real). We're trying to find out what we have."

Entries: El Camino Real Derby

Golden Gate Fields, Saturday, February 16, 2019, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• All Weather Track
• $100,000
• 3 yo
• 3:54 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Angelo's Pride (CA)	Silvio Ruiz Amador	122	William Delia	30/1
2	2King of Speed (KY)	Heriberto Figueroa	122	Jeff Bonde	10/1
3	3Data Hawk (KY)	Ricardo Gonzalez	122	Tim McCanna	30/1
4	4Anothertwistafate (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	122	Blaine D. Wright	5/2
5	5The Creep (WV)	Brice Blanc	122	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
6	6Weekly Call (KY)	Alonso Quinonez	122	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
7	7Eagle Song (IRE)	Julien Couton	122	Mark Glatt	5/1
8	8Rey Coliman (CA)	Catalino Martinez	122	Felix Rondan	30/1
9	9Kingly (KY)	Evin A. Roman	122	Bob Baffert	2/1
10	10Knight's Cross (KY)	Diego Sanchez	122	J. Keith Desormeaux	20/1
11	11Royal Insider (KY)	Frank T. Alvarado	122	Eoin G. Harty	30/1
12	12More Ice (FL)	Abel Cedillo	122	Jerry Hollendorfer	8/1
13	13Mayor Cobb (KY)	William Antongeorgi III	122	Jonathan Wong	20/1