Tortosa rallies from last to win Alcatraz Stakes

An improving horse with a pedigree to love the turf produced the biggest victory of trainer Jose Bautista’s career as Tortosa rallied from last place and won the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes on Sunday at Golden Gate Fields.

Tortosa ran second twice in four sprints as a 2-year-old before stretching out to 11⁄16 miles Jan. 28 for another runner-up finish. He broke his maiden Feb. 18 and won an allowance event April 6.

Those races were on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic main track, but as a son of Irishbred Cape Blanco out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare, Tortosa figured to prefer the grass.

“I’m so happy for the horse because he’s been running better and better,” jockey Catalino Martinez said. “He’s going to be even better as he gets older.”

With the speedy Southern California stakes winner Lombo scratched, leaving a field of five 3-year-olds, Sunday’s race didn’t unfold exactly how Martinez had it mapped out.

“The plan was to lay close, maybe 2 lengths off the lead,” he said. “But the pace was fast, so being 5 lengths back was OK. At the three-eighths pole I tapped him and I could feel I had a lot of horse and I had to decide what to do. I decided to go wide so I wouldn’t get in trouble. In the last sixteenth, I knew we had it.”

Unpossible and Bronze Warrior dueled for the early lead before the former took command on the backstretch through factions of 23.71 seconds and 47.92. Respect the Hustle made a run at the leaders around the second turn, and Tortosa launched his bid outside of him.

It was a tight race down the stretch until Tortosa inched away near the finish line to win by three-quarters of a length over Unpossible, who was a nose ahead of Respect the Hustle.

“I probably sprinted him too many times early on, but when

“I’m so happy for the horse because he’s been running better and better.” Catalino Martinez, jockey, on his winning mount Tortosa

he ran so well going two turns for the first time, I knew it was only a matter of time,” said Bautista, who has trained a modest-sized stable since 2010. “Now the plan is to tackle the big boys down south. Let’s see if he can improve upon what he’s done here.”

Del Mar, where the season opens July 18, has a good series of grass stakes for 3-year-olds: the Oceanside, the La Jolla and the Del Mar Derby.