Berkeley, Calif.- Southern California invader Evening Sun made a rush from midfield to win the marquee race of the meet at Golden Gate Fields, the $250,000 Grade 3 San Francisco Mile for 3-year-olds and upward at one mile on firm turf.
Under winning rider Brice Blanc, Evening Sun sat in the middle of the field before making his way towards the lead around the far turn. Swinging for home, Blanc angled Evening Sun into the clear and surged late to run down the leaders, outfinishing 2-1 race favorite Vanzzy in the final 100 yards. The official winning margin was a half-length.
Evening Sun stopped the clock for eight furlongs in 1:35.36 seconds. He was sent off at 8-1 odds and paid $18.60 to win, $7.80 to place and $5.60 to show. Runner up Vanzzy returned $4.60 to place and $3.60 to show and local 4-time stakes winner Camino Del Paraiso paid $11.20 to show after completing the trifecta at big odds of 30-1. Tom’s Surprise was next in the field followed by Indian Peak, Tiz Plus, Freeport Joe, Restrainedvengence, Jimmy Blue Jeans, Delaware, Ecrivain, Harmon, Get Her Number and Nolde.
Trained by Jeff Mullins and owned by Rancho Temescal LLC and Red Barons Barn LLC, 5-year-old gelding Evening Sun was making his North American stakes debut in the San Francisco Mile. He sports 4 wins, 3 seconds and 1 third place finish for 14 lifetime starts, with career earns of $269,401. Evening Sun was bred in Great Britain by Her Majesty The Queen.
Live racing resumes at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday with 10 more races, including a pair of California-bred stakes: the Campanile and Silky Sullivan for 3-year-olds on turf. First post on Sunday is 12:45 PM. The Late Pick 4 pool on Sunday is guaranteed at $100,000 and the Late Pick 4 is guaranteed at $200,000.
Golden Gate Fields Press Release
Photo: Evening Sun (Shane Micheli/ Vassar Photography)
