2nd S.F. Mile for Alert Bay
Alert Bay has been the best horse stabled at Golden Gate Fields over the past two years, and to prove it, he accomplished something Saturday that had been done only once before.
He won the Grade 3, $100,225 San Francisco Mile for a second straight year, matching the feat of Battle Dance in 1957-58.
“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse for me,” trainer Blaine Wright said. “I can’t tell you how great it is to wake up and see this horse every morning.”
The only millionaire equine resident at Golden Gate Fields, Alert Bay pushed his career earnings to $1,228,555 with his 14th win in 31 starts, his 10th in a stakes and his sixth in a graded event.
“When I was told it hadn’t been done in 59 years, I was nervous,” Wright said. “Everybody thought this was a walkover for us, but the other horses are tough and don’t go down without a fight.”
To win Saturday, Alert Bay had to race close enough early to pressure Many Roses, the only legitimate front-runner in the field of six, then had to call on his stamina to hold off stretch-runners.
“The plan depended on if anybody went with the No. 4,” Many Roses, jockey Juan Hernandez said. “If nobody did, I had to go with him. He broke real fast, so I got to sit right next to him. I waited until the stretch to ask my horse, and when I did he ran real strong again. He was just too much horse by a lot.”
Many Roses sprinted to a length lead going into the first turn and maintained that down the backstretch. The fractions of 23.81 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 47.71 for the first half were comfortable enough, but Alert Bay put serious pressure on Many Roses on the second turn, forcing him into a 22.99-second third quarter-mile.
Alert Bay pushed to the lead in early stretch, saw Many Roses battle back from his inside and then pulled clear to win by 1¼ lengths over G. G. Ryder. The 2015 winner of the San Francisco Mile, G. G. Ryder made a nice rail rally to edge Many Roses by a nose for second. It was 5¾ lengths back to Star Student, followed by Stryker Phd and Camino Del Paraiso.
The final time of 1:35.12 bettered Alert Bay’s 1:36.39 clocking in 2016.
Briefly: Percy’s Bluff stretched his winning streak to eight in Saturday’s 11⁄16-mile starter allowance for horses that have run for a claiming price of $12,500 or less in 2016-17. His previous seven wins came in sprints, including a 5furlong track record of 56.48 seconds. … Trainer Steve Specht and ownersbreeders Larry D. and Marianne Williams had the 1-2 finishers in the first race of the year for 2-year-olds as Song From Above ran down Generally Lucky for a 1-length victory. Larry Stumes is a freelance writer.