Unbeaten Acceptance Rolls On in King Glorious
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Acceptance remained unbeaten in three starts with a three-length victory as the 3-10 favorite in the $200,000 King Glorious Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds at Los Alamitos Race Course Dec. 14.
Ridden by Elvis Trujillo for trainer Donald Warren, Acceptance put away upset-minded Pulmarack in the stretch and drew off to an impressive win in his first try around two turns. Acceptance won the one-mile King Glorious, a race won last year by California Chrome at Hollywood Park, in a time of 1:35.81 over a fast track.
A 2-year-old son of Vronsky out of the Perfect Mandate mare Allswellthatnswell, Acceptance is owned by his breeders, Bud and Judy Johnston of Old English Rancho, in partnership with Robert Riggio. The strapping bay colt was coming off a front-running 1 1/4-length victory in the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
"He ran really game,'' said Bud Johnston afterward. "He's a good colt. He handled the track so beautifully when we brought him over for a work (seven furlongs in 1:23 4/5 Dec. 7). He has some real talent and you don't know how far that talent will take you.''
Acceptance was always prominent in the six-horse field, tracking 40-1 Comanche Ruler into the far turn with Pulmarack stalking on the far outside. Comanche Ruler led through quarter-mile fractions of :23.29 and :46.57 before Acceptance took over approaching the quarter pole, which he reached in 1:10.79.
Advancing quickly on the outside, Pulmarack challenged the favorite rounding the far turn and those two fought it briefly in the drive before Acceptance gradually took command under some right-handed urging from Trujillo.
"He relaxed perfectly behind the leaders,'' said Trujillo. "I moved on the backstretch when (runner-up Pulmarack) came up on our outside and I didn't want to lose position. This is a very nice horse with a lot of class.''
A tiring Pulmarack, coming off a maiden victory for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, gutted it out in the final sixteenth of a mile for Drayden Van Dyke to hold second by half a length over the closing Kluszewski and Rafael Bejarano. Mischief Clem, Comanche Ruler, and P Club completed the order.
Carrying top weight of 121 pounds, Acceptance ran his career earnings to $257,600 and returned $2.60, $2.20, and $2.10. Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams' homebred Pulmarack, a half brother to grade I winner Tamarando, returned $4 and $3 as the third choice. He completed a $13.80 exacta. Kluszewski paid $3.60 to show.