Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
WARD ‘N JERRY LEADS SPRY GROUP OF SENIORS IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, PAGE 3 RESPECT ELDERS
ARCADIA, Calif. – At a mile and three-quarters on turf, the San Juan Capistrano is still the longest race of the Santa Anita season, even if its relevance has diminished.
An iconic Grade 1 fixture for three decades before being lowered to Grade 2 status in 2004, the San Juan took another hit in 2015 when it was knocked down to Grade 3. The past two decades, the San Juan Capistrano purse has declined from $400,000 to $100,000.
So the San Juan Capistrano is not the high-class race it was when John Henry won in 1980, or Great Communicator in 1988, or Kotashaan in 2003. But the turf marathon still evokes memories of a once-robust California turf program.
The San Juan Capistrano will be run for the 81st time Saturday, and three aging veterans will try to turn back time. They are 8-year-old Ward ’n Jerry, third as the favorite last year, and a pair of 7-year-olds seeking their second San Juan – 2020 winner Red King and 2019 winner Acclimate.
The San Juan Capistrano is the finale on an 11-race card with four stakes. Front-runner Chasin Munny will try to upset Texas Wedge in the $75,000 Siren Lure, race 3 for turf sprinters. A pair of $150,000 route stakes for Cal-bred 3-year-olds precede the San Juan. The Snow Chief is race 9 on turf, led by None Above the Law. The Melair for fillies is race 10 on dirt. Fi Fi Pharoah seeks an upset over I’m So Anna.
Six were entered for the San Juan. In addition to graded winners Ward ’n Jerry, Red King, and Acclimate, the field includes allowance-caliber Astronaut, Pillar Mountain, and Lure Him In. The longshots are not toss-outs.
All four times the San Juan has been held this late in the season, the final week of June, it was won by an allowance-caliber runner. Big Kick (2014), Crucero (2015), and Red King (2020) entered off first- or second-place finishes in entrylevel allowances. Acclimate (2019) won a starter allowance in his previous start, and at the time was N1X-eligible.
The limited sample suggests class is not a major concern in the San Juan. Lightly raced Astronaut finished a closing second last out in an entrylevel allowance, defeating third-place Lure Him In. Pillar Mountain won back-to-back entry-level allowance/optional claiming races at Gulfstream.
Recent history aside, the most likely winner of the 2021 San Juan is last year’s beaten favorite Ward ’n Jerry, compromised a year ago by self-inflicted trouble.
“Last year in the Capistrano, he ran off with [Flavien] Prat,” trainer Mike Puype said. Ward ’n Jerry did not relax, made a premature move, lost his punch, and finished third by five lengths.
Puype does not expect another run-off incident. “He’s past that now, and he will get the distance,” Puype said.
Ward ’n Jerry, owned by his breeders, Larry and Marianne Williams, has won eight races and $468,259 from 27 starts, including the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles. He enters this year’s San Juan off back-to-back wins in starter allowances.
The three-month layoff is by design. “We freshened him up for this race,” Puype said. “I didn’t like the timing of the Whittingham to the Capistrano, three weeks, and gave him a little more time.”
Phil D’Amato trains laterunner Red King and frontrunner Acclimate, third and second in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham on May 29. D’Amato is not worried about the short turnaround. “Both came back with really good works,” he said. “They both gave me the green light to go.”
Although Red King finished ahead of odds-on United in the Whittingam, Red King’s jockey, Umberto Rispoli, acknowledged he paid too much attention to the favorite, and not enough to eventual one-two finishers Award Winner and Acclimate.
“[Umberto] will be the first to tell you, he was looking more at United, and when United didn’t fire, he had too much to do,” D’Amato said. Rispoli, whose San Juan victory last year on Red King was his first U.S. graded stakes win, rides him again Saturday.
To win the San Juan, he must catch his front-running stablemate Acclimate. The most recent start by 2019 San Juan winner Acclimate was a runner-finish in the Whittingham. “I’m thinking he’s back in 2019-mode,” D’Amato said.
Win or lose, he and Ricky Gonzalez are the ones to catch.
Turf sprinters race 6 1/2 furlongs in the Siren Lure, race 3. It is a race with only one true front-runner. Chasin Munny dueled and cracked last out, but he could be loose on the lead Saturday. His main rival is graded winner and likely favorite Texas Wedge. Late-runners Commander and Kandarel also entered.