Berkeley, Calif.—Defending champion Give Me the Lute won Saturday’s $50,000 Albany Stakes at Golden Gate, setting the pace before out-finishing his competition to win the five-furlong contest by a narrow margin.
Dueling on the lead from the outside post with fourth place finisher Away From the Sun, the two aforementioned rivals clicked off the opening quarter mile in a sizzling hot 20.83 seconds. Into the far turn, Give Me the Lute cleared off on the lead and turned for home with a length and a half advantage. He hit the furlong pull still in front, completing the half mile 44.52 seconds. In mid-stretch, 5-year-old mare Carolina Mia pounced from a stalking position and moved up to battle for the win with Give Me Lute. Give Me the Lute dug in gamely on the inside of the battle and turned away the challenge from Carolina Mia in the final 50 yards. Guided to victory by jockey Irving Orozco, Give Me the Lute won by about a quarter of a length and stopped the clock for five furlongs on turf in 56.79.
Give Me the Lute, sent off as the 7-5 post time favorite, returned $4.80 to win, $3.20 to place and 3.20 to show. Carolina Mia paid $4.00 to place and $3.60 to show while third place finisher Psycho Dar paid $5.00 to show. Away From the Sun finished fourth followed by Ultimate Bango, War Games, I’mgonnabesomebody, Hey Mate and Big Duke.
With the victory, winning trainer Andy Mathis picked up his fourth consecutive Albany Stakes win. Of course, Give Me the Lute won the 2021 edition, and Mikes Tiznow won the race in 2019 and 2020. Owned by Rod and Wendy Hogan, Give Me the Lute sports a 5-3-2 record from 16 lifetime starts with career earnings of $239,823.
Live racing resumes at Golden Gate on Sunday, June 12, the last day of live racing at the current Winter/Spring meet. Mandatory payouts are in play tomorrow including in the 20-Cent Golden Pick 6 wager, which features a $27,885 carryover. The Pick 6 sequence begins in Race 5 and has a scheduled post time of 3:18 PM PT. Other mandatory payout wagers include the low 14% takeout Early Pick 5 (Races 1-5), the Late Pick 5 (Races 5-10) and the Rolling Super High Five bet in the last race in which the wager is offered. First post on the 10-race Sunday card is 1:15 PM.
Golden Gate Fields Press Release
Photo: Shane Micheli/Vassar Photography
