Photo by Benoit
Race Is Part Of Lucrative CTBA-Sponsored Golden State Series
Santa Anita Press Release
ARCADIA, Calif.—Patiently handled by Umberto Rispoli, Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams’ homebred Passarando swung out for racing room turning for home and collared heavily favored Giver Not a Taker in deep stretch to win Saturday’s $175,000 Golden State Juvenile going away by a length.
Trained by Steve Specht, Passarando, a 2-year-old gelding by Tamarando, got seven panels in 1:24.18.
Into the bridle while in behind a group of three dueling leaders around the far turn, Passarando, who was ridden for the first time by Rispoli, angled three-deep at the top of the lane and proved best at 11-1.
“He breaks pretty well out of the gate, and I was happy with where I was. Steve was very nice and said, ‘Listen, I don’t know where you’re going to end up, but if you’re close, you close and if you’re back, you’re back. Just be confident. Riding with confidence is going to result in a huge run.’ And that’s what happened,” Rispoli remarked.
“Going to the three-eighths pole I saw an opening between the horses ahead of me. I saw the favorite (Giver Not a Taker) on the outside, and I wished they were going to get tired once we turned for home. I’m sure my horse was probably tired, but once I took him off the rail, brought him into the middle of the track, and switched leads, he did the rest.”
A 2 ½ length open allowance winner going 5 ½ furlongs on synthetic Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields Sept. 9, Passarando was a considerable overlay off of his morning line of 4-1 and paid $24.40, $5.60 and $3.40.
“That was perfect, he was just kind of stalling down at the rail and once (Umberto) got him in the clear, he started running. In the Everett Nevin (on July 9) he threw his head a little bit, but then they squeezed him off and had to grab him and take him out,” Specht said.
“We made a little decent run that day for only going five and a half furlongs, made up a lot of ground on a new track and everything, so he ran a respectable race. Then last time once he hit the sixteenth pole he just took off and won by two and a half, it could have been eight. He’s a nice little horse.”
Out of the Lucky Pulpit mare I’m Passing Ya Now, Passarando picked up $105,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $160,830. In notching his first stakes win, Passarando improved his overall mark to 5-3-1-0.
Off at 2-5 under Jose Valdivia, Jr., Giver Not a Taker was second best on the day, finishing 4 ¼ lengths in front of Mystic Flyer while returning $2.20 and $2.10.
Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Mystic Flyer sat a close second to the head of the stretch and lacked the necessary rally. Off at 6-1 he paid $3.00 to show while finishing 4 ¾ lengths in front of Merit Song.
Fractions on the race were 22.49, 45.77 and 1:10.90.
