Photo: Hollywood Park
Crimson China,
a recent acquisition by Team Valor International, will be flown to California from England to run in the $750,000
CashCall Futurity for 2-year-olds December 18.
“He will be coming on the 16th,” Team
Valor president Barry Irwin confirmed Sunday from Lexington, Ky.
“We just bought him last weekend.
“He has run two times, both on all-weather tracks in England,” said
Irwin of the colt trained by Brian Meehan. “He came flying in his first race at
one mile at Kempton and got beat a nose by a horse that came back to win a
Group III. Then he won easily in his second start at a mile and a sixteenth at Wolverhampton.
“He’s well-bred, by Giant’s
Causeway out of a stakes-winning Mr. Greeley mare, Parisian
Affair,” continued Irwin. “We’re hoping he’s a Kentucky
Derby-type of horse, and if he could finish first or second in this race, that
would give him a lot of earnings for the Derby
and take some of the stress off needing more earnings next spring.
“It looks like there is a lot of speed in the race,”
said Irwin, indicating that would be to the benefit of the closer. Crimson China will be ridden by Garrett Gomez, who has
won the last two runnings aboard Pioneerof the Nile
and Lookin at Lucky.
“Crimson China
will go to Graham Motion at Palm Meadows in Florida after the race,” said Irwin, hoping
that Team Valor will continue its recent hot streak. “We won the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Turf with Pluck, then the Matriarch with Gypsy’s Warning and Saturday
the top 3-year-old filly race in South Africa with Ebony Flyer.”
Two other invaders, both from Florida, are also expected for the Futurity,
a Grade I test at 1 1/16 miles on Cushion Track. Calder-based trainer Steve
Standridge is considering Gourmet Dinner, who scored his fourth victory in five
starts in the rich Delta Jackpot Stakes in Louisiana, with Sebastian Madrid. Trainer
Rick Dutrow, based at Gulfstream
Park, is considering
Rustler Hustler, winner of stakes in his last two starts at Monmouth and
Belmont parks, with Ramon Dominguez.
The trio will be joined by locally-based Comma to the
Top, winner of the Real Quiet and Generous stakes with Corey Nakatani; J P’s
Gusto, winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship and Del Mar Futurity, with
Joe Talamo; the Bob Baffert-trained duo of Awesome Patriot (Victor Espinoza)
and Prayer for Relief (Alonso Quinonez), the Doug O’Neill-conditioned pair of
Boxeur des Rues and High Level Jeff, Industry Leader (Rafael Bejarano),
Clubhouse Ride (Patrick Valenzuela) and Riveting Reason.
California Cup Juvenile winner Slammer Time heads a
list of possibles after a seven-furlong work in 1:27 Saturday.