Catalina Cruiser Takes True North in Season Debut

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Photo: Rick Samuels
Catalina Cruiser (3) rallies to win the True North Stakes at Belmont Park

The toteboard can be a reliable source of confidence in a racehorse.

So can a plane ticket.


When trainer John Sadler opted to send Hronis Racing's Catalina Cruiser cross country from California for his first race since a stunning loss in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), it said quite a bit about the trainer's belief in his 5-year-old horse's chances in the $250,000 True North Stakes (G2).

"John had a ton of confidence to send him here, that's the takeaway," said bloodstock agent David Ingordo, an adviser to owner Kosta Hronis. "The odds reflected that as the bettors figured that out as well. John had him trained to the minute."

The public certainly jumped on board as Catalina Cruiser was bet down to a 9-5 favorite in a field of eight and rallied late to post a half-length victory June 7 at Belmont Park.

The victory in his first start since Nov. 3, when he was sixth at odds of 4-5 in the Dirt Mile, was the fifth of six starts and third grade 2 win for the son of Union Rags . Bred in Kentucky by W.S. Farish out of the Mineshaft  mare Sea Gull, Catalina Cruiser was bought for $370,000 by Martin Anthony from the Lane's End consignment at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

"I was definitely nervous. For his first race since the Breeders' Cup, he did fantastic. It says a lot for him to travel and do so well," said Hronis' wife, Stephanie. "It was a relief because with the time off, you're never really sure, but he's worked out very well and John showed a lot of confidence in sending him out here. Otherwise, John would have kept him at home."

Ingordo was uncertain of future plans for Catalina Cruiser but did not voice any concerns about seeing him in longer races.

"He's won at a mile and a sixteenth, and he doesn't seem to have any distance limitations, but that's up to John," Ingordo said. "The way he did it off the layoff today, it was probably his best race. I think we're going to have another stellar year with him."

On a day kind to speed on the main track, Courtlandt Farms' Strike Power set fractions of :22.38 and :44.96 in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint, with Sagamore Farm's Recruiting Ready chasing in second. The two were still battling at the eighth pole before Catalina Cruiser and jockey Joel Rosario, who were fourth after a half-mile, swept by them in the final strides. 

"He kicked into gear nicely," Rosario said. "He handled everything fine and had a nice finish at the end. He's a very talented horse. He just wants to win."

Strike Power took second by a nose over Recruiting Ready.

Robert LaPenta, Ron Moquett, and Head of Plains Partners' Whitmore, the 5-2 second choice, never entered contention and finished last.

"He never really put in," said jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. "I couldn't control him. He wanted to get out."

The final time was 1:14.85 on a fast track. Do Share was a late scratch at the gate.

Video: True North S. (G2)