Solid Metal loves Santa Anita Park. After crushing the sphere within the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes in late Might, the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee returned to “The Nice Race Place” and received as soon as once more, this time within the Grade 1 $300,000 Goodwood Stakes on Sept. 26.
Ridden by Edwin Gonzalez, Solid Metal sat proper off the early lead by way of fractions of :22.97 and :48.83 then took the lead approaching the far flip and opened up on the sphere. The 4-year-old maintained his benefit by way of the stretch to defeat Joseph’s different entrant Caldera by 1 1/4 lengths. Final 12 months’s Goodwood winner Nevada Seashore, the 6-5 favourite, completed third. The ultimate time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.48. Solid Metal paid $27.60 for a $2 wager.
Solid Metal gave Gonzalez the primary Grade 1 stakes victory of his profession.
“Once I handed the three-eighths, I handed the chief and was ready for the horses to come back from behind whereas giving him a bit breather,” Gonzalez stated. “Once I turned for house and once I requested, it was one ask and he saved going.”
The Goodwood Stakes was a Breeders’ Cup Problem Collection “Win and You are In” occasion, and Solid Metal earned himself a assured fees-paid spot within the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Basic Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
The winner got here into the race off a seventh-place end within the Grade 1 Pacific Basic Stakes at Del Mar however seems to want Santa Anita. His first go to to the monitor this Might resulted in a 9 1/2-length win within the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes.
“I watched the race this horse ran within the Gold Cup and it was very spectacular,” stated Michael Iavarone representing part-owner TCC Stables. “I believed, ‘if we deliver him again right here and he could possibly be ahead, the cutback goes to be enormous for him.’ I really feel like Edwin had the race in his again pocket just about on the half-mile pole.”
With three horses vying for favoritism within the five-horse, Grade 2 $200,0000 Metropolis of Hope Mile Stakes Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park, Cabo Spirit eked out a slim victory over precise post-time favourite El Potente because the longest shot on the board at 7-1.
Cabo Spirit set the entire fractions underneath jockey Mike Smith, posting :23.47 for the primary quarter-mile and :46.91 for a half-mile. King of Gosford, who had received back-to-back stakes in the course of the Del Mar assembly, took a run at Cabo Spirit across the second flip, however Cabo Spirit rebuffed him. El Potente noticed a wide-open rail and seemed like he would possibly problem Cabo Spirit, however Cabo Spirit held him off to attain by a head over agency floor in 1:33.06. King of Gosford completed third.
“He’s such a cool horse,” Smith stated. “He would not win on a regular basis, however he all the time runs a profitable race. I bought away with an easy first quarter for him. I believed I might get courageous down the bottom and let him run a bit bit. I used to be capable of give him an excellent breather across the flip. He deserves the win.”
With the victory, Cabo Spirit earned a fees-paid Breeders’ Cup Problem Collection “Win and You are In” berth into the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile offered by PDJF on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
“He is all coronary heart, and that confirmed in how he received the race at this time,” coach George Papaprodromou stated. — Tracy Gantz and Byron King
