ARCADIA, Calif. — Brickyard Ride, a chestnut California-bred son of Clubhouse Ride, continued his march to the Grade I Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in November with an emphatic 2 ¼ length tally in Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Kona Gold Stakes at Santa Anita—his fourth consecutive stakes win at the current Winter/Spring Meet. Owned and bred by Alfred Pais, trained by Craig Lewis and ridden by Juan Hernandez, Brickyard Ride went straight to the front and never looked back, negotiating 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15.07.
Breaking like a shot from his number three post position, Brickyard Ride was in complete control throughout, dictating terms through fractions of 21.95, 44.10 and 1:08.45.
“He’s pretty fast,” said Lewis, who also trained Clubhouse Ride. “Juan said he wanted to take it easy on him, but he wouldn’t let him. So, you saw the results and they ran fast…He was geared down so, no telling. He just keeps getting better and better.
“We’re going race to race, but our long-range plan is to be at Keeneland in November. He’s been showing so much versatility though, we don’t know if he should go to the Sprint, the Turf Sprint, or the Mile. A lot of options, we just hope he stays as good as he is now.”
Fresh off a dazzling 1 ½ length score in the statebred Sensational Star Stakes at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course March 20, Brickyard Ride, who took the one mile Tiznow Stakes on Feb. 21 and the Cal Cup Sprint at six furlongs on Jan. 15, was the overwhelming 2-5 favorite among a field of four 3-year-olds and up and paid $2.80 and $2.10 with no show wagering.
“He’s a very fast horse,” said Hernandez, who has now ridden Brickyard Ride in his last seven starts, all stakes, winning five of them. “As soon as I took a little hold of him to slow him down a little, he grabbed the bridle and he just started to run. So I just let him run free. He was happy on the lead and when we hit the stretch, he changed leads and he picked it up by himself. I was just the pilot today.”
A 5-year-old full horse out of the Southern Image mare Brickyard Helen, Brickyard Ride notched his seventh stakes victory and second graded stakes win. With the winner’s share of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $740,977 from an overall mark of 22-12-1-2.
Breaking from the rail, California-bred Tigre Di Slugo was content to trail early, swung three-deep turning for home and put in a solid bid to be second by 3 ¼ lengths over Strike That. Of at 11-1 with Kyle Frey, Tigre Di Slugo paid $5.20 to place.
$100,000, GRADE III, KONA GOLD STAKES QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
JUAN HERNANDEZ, BRICKYARD RIDE, WINNER: “He’s a very fast horse. I told Craig, I didn’t want to go that fast, but you know, he just loves to do that. As soon as I took a little hold of him to slow him down a little, he grabbed the bridle and he just started to run. So I just let him run free. He was happy on the lead and when we hit the stretch, he changed leads and he picked it up by himself. I was just the pilot today.”
TRAINER QUOTES
CRAIG A. LEWIS, BRICKYARD RIDE, WINNER: “He’s pretty fast. Juan said he wanted to take it easy on him, but he wouldn’t let him. So, you saw the results, and they ran fast, one fifteen and he was geared down so, no telling. He just keeps getting better and better.
“It’s a nice place to be, to have the fastest and possibly the best horse but a lot of expectations. There could be disappointment as you know, anything can happen in a horse race.
“We’re going race to race but our long-range plan is to be at Keeneland in November. He’s been showing so much versatility though, we don’t know if he should go in the Sprint, the Turf Sprint or the Mile. A lot of options, we just hope he stays as good as he is now.”
OWNER QUOTES
ALFRED, “SONNY” PAIS, BRICKYARD RIDE, OWNER/BREEDER, WINNER: “We wanted a little test to see where to go next…We’ll stay in open company from here on. I figured he’d be the lone speed unless something unexpected happened. I don’t want to meet Flightline anytime soon, but you just take it one race at a time. We’ll see what comes up. There’s four (races) for him coming up in one month. Depending on who’s where and how he’s doing, we’ll make a decision.”
WHEN ASKED IF HE COULD EXPRESS HIS FEELING OF PRIDE IN WINNING FOUR STAKES AT THE CURRENT MEET: “It’s pretty cool (fighting back tears)…People like to watch horses like him. They remember horses like him.”
NOTES: The winning owner/breeder is Alfred Pais.
Santa Anita Park Press Release
Photo: Benoit Photo
