Racing! One last look back at the weekend

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we ponder what we learned about a couple of horses.

Santa Anita was certainly the place be last weekend if you wanted to see the top of the 3-year-old picture. There was the rousing stretch duel between Bolt D’Oro and McKinzie, where McKinzie crossed the line first but was dropped to second for interfering with Bolt D’Oro in deep stretch in the San Felipe Stakes.

And on Sunday, Justify went two turns for the first time and dominated his competition. He was so impressive that after the third of four Kentucky Derby Future Book wagering weekends, Justify was the favorite at 6-1. And remember, this is a horse that has run only twice and has zero stakes dollars, because he’s never run a stakes.

The consensus opinion among rational people on Saturday’s disqualification is that if the stewards had found that Bolt D’Oro initiated contact with McKinzie at the top of the stretch then the result would have stood with McKinzie the winner. But, with that bumping incident inconclusive, McKinzie drifting out to impede Bolt D’Oro was the only thing to rule on, and given the margin of a tiny head, they made the decision to take McKinzie down.

You can judge for yourself, although there is no head-on view. Just click here.

Bolt trainer Mick Ruis even told the Times before the result was reversed that he didn’t think a disqualification was needed. Win or lose, I thought Bolt ran a little bit better race, all things considered. There was an ever so slight stumble by Bolt when the gates opened and then he was stuck down on the rail, allowing McKinzie to make the first move. But the biggest reason I thought more of Bolt was that he was coming off a four-month layoff and minor injury. He was very sharp under those conditions.

Even Ruis thought that Bolt would go by McKinzie by a couple lengths but McKinzie is a determined fighter and showed a ton of heart down the stretch. If this were the playoffs the rivalry would go to a Game 7.

Now the question is if we will see them race each other again before the Kentucky Derby. Either McKinzie or Justify will be sent out, likely to Arkansas, and not race against each other. The thought here is that Justify stays and runs against Bolt D’Oro and McKinzie goes East. And another question is who will ride the horses.

Ruis said on Monday that jockey Javier Castellano will ride Bolt in the Santa Anita Derby. Castellano’s other big Derby horse is Audible, but those connections just named John Velazquez on the colt in the colt’s next race because Castellano will be in Dubai on Florida Derby day.

Now, Mike Smith is on both Justify and McKinzie. The guess here is that Smith will go to Justify. That would leave McKinzie needing a jockey, possibly Drayden Van Dyke, making his Kentucky Derby debut. Or does it make sense to switch Flavien Prat, who is on Bob Baffert’s third Derby possibility, Solomini, to McKinzie? We won’t know those answers for a while.

All in all, it makes this year’s Kentucky Derby the most interesting in a couple of years.

Santa Anita preview

Remember, new Thursday and Friday post time of noon. After expressing that I like the earlier posts, a few of you emailed to tell me why I’m wrong. Ultimately, the all-source handle figures will determine if this is a good idea. Trust me, nobody listens to me, not even my dog. But, think about getting on the 210 Freeway one hour earlier. That’s got to be worth something.

OK, the eight-race card. Three turf races (all down the hill), three Cal-bred races, five races restricted to fillies and mares, three races for maidens. Now, you can mix and match those combinations to come up with eight.

The feature is the sixth, a 6-furlong allowance for Cal-bred fillies and mares 3 years old and up. There are eight horses entered for a $56,000 purse. Here’s the field size, in order, for the day: 9, 5, 6, 10, 7, 8, 10 (2 also eligible), 8.

Golden Gate weekend preview

Now a look at the best racing coming up at Golden Gate. New race caller and all-around good guy Matt Dinerman is our host to previews and other musings. So, take it away, Matt.

“Four racing days this week, with first post at 12:15 p.m. each day. This will be the regular first post time each day for the reminder of the meet.

“Our feature on Saturday (and for the entire week) is the Camilla Urso Stakes for older fillies and mares going 6 furlongs. Cuyathy, who most recently ran third behind Selcourt in the Kalookan Queen Stakes at Santa Anita, is the likely favorite. Alliford Bay, a winner of two stakes this summer, is also expected to get plenty of support in the wagering. Other main contenders include Passionate Emotion, who has won four races in a row since being claimed for $12,500 by trainer Ari Herbertson, and the Jeff Mullins trainee Symposium, who ships from Southern California in search of her first stakes win.

“Also Saturday, stakes performers Blended Citizen, Consolida and Mugaritz go to Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Blended Citizen and Mugaritz race in the $200,000 Grade 3 Jeff Ruby (formerly known as the Spiral Stakes). Blended Citizen is trained by Doug O’Neill and will be ridden by Kyle Frey, who guided the son of Proud Citizen to a second-place finish in the El Camino Real Derby last month. Mugaritz, conditioned by Jonathan Wong, picks up the services of jockey Nik Juarez. Mugaritz made an early move towards the front in the El Camino Real Derby before flattening out in the final furlong to run fourth.

“Consolida, winner of the California Oaks on Feb. 10, races in the $100,000 Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks for trainer Paddy Gallagher. The 3-year-old filly will be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke. Northern California jockey Julien Couton was aboard in the California Oaks.

“Finally, you may have read in Monday’s newsletter how 25-year-old rider Ferrin Petterson recorded her first win as a jockey this past Sunday. Ferrin, who also attends vet school at U.C. Davis, had this to say on Wednesday morning, when asked to reflect on her win: ‘I’ve put in a lot of work over the last several months of training to becoming a jockey while studying hard in vet school. It feels great when that hard work pays off. I felt the rush of adrenaline as Lovely Lioness and I hit the wire. I heard the crowd roaring. It was awesome. This is my childhood dream come true.’”

Bob Ike’s SA play of the day

SEVENTH RACE: No. 12 (Also-Eligible) Giant Mongolian (8-1)

Assuming this race stays on the hillside turf course and needing a couple scratches to draw in, Giant Mongolian is the play. She shortens back to a sprint after setting the pace and tiring going long, tries hard every time, will be drawn favorably outside and her trainer has made a good impression with limited starters.

Sunday’s Result: Kochees was scratched from the seventh race.

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here’s a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

Final thought

Still looking to jump the circulation of this newsletter. Can’t beat the price. If you like it, tell someone. If you don’t like it, then you’re probably not reading this. Either way, send to a friend and just have them click here and sign up. Remember, it’s free, and all we need is your email, nothing more.

Any thoughts, drop me an email at my new address [email protected] or feed my ego by following me on Twitter @jcherwa

And now the star of the show, Thursday’s entries.