Gabo’s Macondo streaks into Berkeley Handicap

Two recent claims on a roll will try to extend winning streaks Saturday at Golden Gate Fields in the Grade 3, $100,000 Berkeley Handicap and the $50,000 Oakland.

Gabo’s Macondo goes for his fifth straight win in the Berkeley (race 9), for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta main track. Awesome Anywhere tries to make it four straight in the Oakland (race 7) at six furlongs on Tapeta, which was scheduled to be run last Saturday on a card that was canceled because of poor air quality caused by the Northern California fires.

The Berkeley, the final graded stakes race of the year at Golden Gate, attracted 12 horses, including Southern California-based Flamboyant, who became a millionaire when he won the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile here March 31, and Editore, the 2017 Berkeley winner who was edged by a neck in the San Francisco Mile. The 7-year-old G. G. Ryder is a Northern California favorite who will be making his 26th stakes appearance and 15th at Golden Gate in the Berkeley

But the “now” horse in the Berkeley is Gabo’s Macondo, who was claimed from Jerry Hollendorfer for $20,000 by trainer Jonathan Wong on July 27 at Sacramento. He won that race and is 3 for 3 for Wong, with two wins over the Golden Gate turf course and a neck victory over Saturday rival More Power to Him in the Bull Dog Handicap on dirt Oct. 14 at Fresno. He has two wins and has hit the board in all seven of his starts over the Golden Gate Tapeta.

Wong had hoped to run the 5-year-old Cape Blanco gelding in the Claiming Crown on Dec. 1 at Gulfstream, but travel problems led to a switch in plans.

Abel Cedillo, who has been aboard for the past three wins, will ride Gabo’s Macondo again.

“Abel gets along really well with him,” Wong said. “He deserves a lot of credit for the horse’s success.”

Wong also will run Mithqaal, who has worked his way up from a $16,000 claiming tag earlier this year. He was second in the Rolling Green on the Golden Gate turf Sept. 3 and then finished ninth in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on Oct. 6.

G. G. Ryder won the San Francisco Mile in 2015 and the Grade 3 All American in 2015 and 2017. He has two seconds and a third in the past four Berkeley runnings. Trained by Hollendorfer, G. G. Ryder comes off a neck victory in an optional claimer a month ago at Golden Gate.

Flamboyant has finished fifth or sixth in his three starts since winning the San Francisco Mile, all in Grade 2 turf stakes in Southern California. The only time he raced on the Tapeta at Golden Gate he finished second in the Grade 3 All American last year.

Editore hasn’t raced since a fifth-place finish in the Rolling Green over the Golden Gate turf on Sept. 3.

◗ Awesome Anywhere figures to be a short price in a field of eight older sprinters in the Oakland on the strength of his 92 and 100 Beyer Speed Figures from his last two starts. He was claimed by Hollendorfer for $32,000 from a Sept. 16 win at Golden Gate and has gone on to win first- and second-level optional claimers at Santa Anita.

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