ARCADIA, Calif. — Could his incredible speed carry him a route of ground? That was the question facing Alfred Pais’ heavily favored homebred Brickyard Ride on Monday at Santa Anita as he stretched out to a flat mile in the $100,000 Tiznow Stakes. It took about a minute and a half, but the question was answered in resounding fashion, as the 5-year-old chestnut horse by Clubhouse Ride won geared down by 7 ½ lengths under regular rider Juan Hernandez, who would go on the register his third win of the day in the next race. Trained by Craig Lewis, Brickyard Ride stopped the clock at 1:37.77.
Sponsored by the CTBA, the Tiznow is part of the lucrative Golden State Series for eligible California-bred or sired runners.
Fresh off an impressive gate to wire victory going six furlongs in the California Cup Sprint Jan. 15, Clubhouse Ride, who was trying two turns on dirt for the first time in his 20th career start, outran Wilder Than Most to the first turn and from there, he was loose on a comfortable lead, opening up some eight lengths a furlong out as Hernandez geared him down for final approach.
In his second start following a 4 ½ month freshening, Brickyard Ride was off as the 3-5 favorite in a field of five and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10.
“Well, he always struck me as a two turn horse. When we turned him out after Del Mar, I always had this race in mind. He’s got a high cruising speed and the good ones usually do. They do it their way. I’m not saying he’s (their caliber) but horses like Life Is Good and Knicks Go, but when they go 46, it’s like another horse going 48,” said Albert Pias, his owner and breeder.
Out of the Southern Image mare Brickyard Helen, Brickyard Ride, a winner of last year’s Grade II San Carlos Stakes, registered his fifth stakes victory while improving his overall resume to 20-10-1-2. With the winner’s share of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $620,977.
Last in the run to the first turn, Touchdown Brown ran by a tiring Wilder Than Most to finish second by 4 ¼ lengths. Off at 5-2 with Kyle Frey, Touchdown Brown paid $3.00 and $2.10.
“He broke nice and I thought ‘Okay, perfect, he’s going to relax perfect,’ but then he felt the pressure from (Wilder Than Most), he started to take off. So I let him go a little bit, because sometimes when you do that, he relaxes. But today, when I gave him a looser rein, he took off, so I had to take a little hold of him. Down the backside, he was just galloping and he won so easy,” said his jockey, Juan Hernandez.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Wilder Than Most was off at 9-2 and paid $2.20 while finishing 6 ¼ lengths in front of Peaceful Transfer.
Fractions on the race were 22.88, 46.29 and 1:10.61.
“He broke well and went pretty quick the first quarter,” said his trainer Lewis. “It looked like Prat tried to send his horse with him, but he got out-footed. Down the backside, my horse was on cruise and turning for home, I started to feel pretty good. When they hit the eighth pole, Juan looked like he was starting to gear him down, so I felt pretty comfortable. The purpose of trying this was to give us options and he came through. He’s obviously a very nice horse so we’ll see what the future holds.” When asked if the G2 San Carlos could be next he responded, “It’s not out of the question.”
Live racing resumes with first post time for an eight-race card on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Santa Anita Press Office Release
Photo: Brickyard Ride wins the Tiznow geared down: Benoit Photo
