Mike Smith hopes history repeats Sunday when he rides Uh Oh Bango in the Grade II,
$200,000 San Antonio Stakes, a major steppingstone to the Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 3.
Smith was aboard Uh Oh Bango for the first time on Jan. 7 when he
guided the 5-year-old
Arizona-bred horse to a 1 ¾-length victory in the Grade II San Pasqual
Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. The San Antonio is a sixteenth further at a mile
and an eighth.
“He ran great for me,” Smith said of Uh Oh Bango in the San
Pasqual, “so I’m hoping the
second time will even be better. His last three races were good. His ran
really well finishing second to Bold Chieftain (in the Bull Dog at
Fresno on Oct. 16).
“In the All American (at Golden Gate on Nov. 25), he reared up
at the start and still finished fourth. It was a horrible start. It cost
him the race. Then he came back and ran a bang-up race in the San
Pasqual.
“I think he’s going to come back and run big again, because look
at his works. I don’t think the extra distance will be a problem. He’s a
stayer. He’ll have no problem with a mile and an eighth. The question
will be, is he good enough?”
Trained by Kory Owens for his father, Richard, of Glendale,
Arizona, who races as Triple AAA Ranch, Uh Oh Bango has a 5-5-2 record
from 17 starts. The son of Top Hit has earned $532,712.
The field for the San Antonio with Santa Anita morning line
oddsmaker Jon White’s revised morning line following the scratch of Tres
Borrachos: Uh Oh Bango, Mike Smith, 3-1; Game On Dude, Chantal
Sutherland, 3-5; El Gato Malo, Corey Nakatani, 10-1; Ashtar, Kevin
Krigger, 20-1; Victory Pete, Martin Garcia, 5-1; and Skipshot, Joe
Talamo, 8-1.