El Potente in the Thunder Road, Benoit Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA —El Potente and Gas Me Up, the one-two finishers in last month’s Grade III Thunder Road at Santa Anita, will meet again as part of a deep group of older turf set to go in the Grade II, $200,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.
El Potente dazzled in the one-mile Thunder Road. Trained by Dan Blacker, El Potente sped through fast fractions under Hector Berrios and spurted away in the stretch for a dominant 3 ¾ length victory. It was El Potente’s second year in a row winning the Thunder Road. Last year, he was sidelined for nearly the next nine months after the Thunder Road.
A 7-year-old horse by Temple City, El Potente is 17: 7-2-2 with $344,796 in earnings. He is owned by My Way Racing. Berrios will again ride El Potente in the Kilroe.
Prior to the Thunder Road, Gas Me Up beat El Potente when winning the GII Joe Hernandez sprinting about 6 ½ furlongs on the hillside turf course. Jockey Mirco Demuro was aboard for both starts and again has the call.
A 5-year-old gelding by Hard Spun, Gas Me Up is trained by Peter Eurton for owners Exline-Border Racing LLC, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy and Tom Zwiesler. Last year, when trained by Kevin Attard at Woodbine, Gas Me Up won the GII King Edward, was third in the GI Woodbine Mile and seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He enters with a record of 12: 5-2-1 and $510,262 in earnings.
Almendares and Astronomer are back at Santa Anita after earning minor awards in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park. Almendares finished third behind winner Test Score, and a head in front of Astronomer in fourth.
In the 1 1/8-miles Pegasus World Cup Turf, Almendares rallied from the rear of the field with a five-wide move entering the stretch. He finished just 1 ¼ lengths back of the winner at 37-1. Almendares a 6-year-old English-bred gelding by Havana Glory, is trained by Phi D’Amato for owners CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Ray Pagano. He is seeking his graded stakes win. Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard in the Pegasus, again has the call on Almendares.
Astronomer, trained by Simon Callaghan, is also seeking a first graded win. He raced in mid-pack in the Pegasus and was only a half-length back of the lead at the eighth pole. Prior to that effort, Astronomer finished second in both the GIII San Gabriel in December at Santa Anita and the GII Seabiscuit at Del Mar in November.
A 7-year-old gelding by Air Force Blue, Astronomer is owned by Alice Bamford and Michael B. Tabor. He’ll be ridden by Florent Geroux for the first time.
Graded stakes winner Mi Hermano Ramon makes his return for trainer Mark Glatt after more than eight months on the sidelines. When last seen in June at Churchill Downs, Mi Hermano Ramon had the lead in the GII Wise Dan going 1 1/8 miles before yielding late to finish fourth. The 6-year-old gelding by Creative Cause is 14: 4-3-1 with $486,640 in earnings for owner Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal. He’ll have Antonio Fresu aboard for his return.
THE GRADE II FRANK E. KILROE MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 9 of 11 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT
- Mi Hermano Ramon—Antonio Fresu—120
- Almendares—Tyler Gaffalione—120
- El Potente—Hector Berrios—122
- Gas Me Up—Mirco Demuro—122
- Cabo Spirit—Mike Smith—122
- Mi Bago—Emisael Jaramillo—120
- Final Boss—Juan Hernandez—120
- Astronomer—Florent Geroux—120
First post Saturday is 12 p.m. PT.
