I thought I
would use this week to talk about some news and notes around Golden Gate Fields
and update you on some horses and jockeys that I have mentioned over the past
few months.
Saddle up
and here we go.
The call to
the post signifies the horses are on the track for the next race. These days,
those races are getting harder and harder to fill at Golden Gate Fields. Here
is a small example. Last week we ran four days, Thursday thru Sunday. During
those days, we carded 34 races. Would you be surprised if I told you that 20 of
those 34 races had 6 horses or less?
Trainer
Steve Sherman (left) came within 2 lengths of equaling a 15 year-old record. Sherman
went into Friday’s sixth race with 8 straight wins over a four day period. The
record of 9 is held by leading trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. However Sherman’s
horse, Milyone, ridden by Kevin Krigger ran third narrowly missing after a late
close down the stretch. Krigger though is a big reason Sherman had the wins as
he was on board for 4 of the 8.
Speaking of
Krigger, he and Aaron Gryder have found success quickly in their short stints
at GGF. Through Sunday, Krigger has won 21 races from 88 mounts and Gryder has
won 17 of 85 starts.
And now for
the one that got away. Apprentice Kyle Frey left GGF last month to ride at Parx
Racecourse in Philadelphia and in a short time is making a big impression. Frey
has had 13 mounts through Sunday and has 5 wins, 1 second and 4 thirds.
When I last
spoke of William E. Morey’s Positive Response, he was a disappointing third in
the El Camino Real Derby. Since then though, he has found a liking for the
synthetic surface at Turfway Park. Under regular jockey Julien Couton,
‘Response won the John Battaglia Memorial on March 5th by seven lengths and now
will be aiming at the $500,000 Spiral Stakes this Saturday, also at Turfway. Is
the Kentucky Derby a possibility? We will see after this weekend.
Remember
Cathy's Crunches? She was last seen locally losing the California Oaks to Lilacs
and Lace. But since then, the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee has run third in the
La Habra Stakes and second in the China Doll Stakes, both at Santa Anita. Both
races were won by Pleasanton trainer Jeff Bonde’s Cambina. Lilacs and Lace has
since been sold and is stabled back east.
We may not
have a close jockey race but the trainer title is now up for grabs. Russell Baze has kept his distance from his challengers, with 75 wins through Saturday,
but Francisco Duran and Julien Couton are battling for second with Duran holding
a 41-39 edge. On the trainer side, Sherman’s run mentioned earlier has him in a
tie with Hollendorfer through Saturday with 40 wins apiece. Sherman has started
40 horses less than Hollendorfer and won his first training title in the summer
of 2010 when he edged Billy Morey 22-21.
And
finally, to say that Sunday was a pretty “chalky” day may be an understatement.
The highest paying winner of the first six races was $4.40 and the $1 pick 3
for races 4 thru 6 paid a whopping $2.90
And how was
your week?