Man O Rose with Edwin Maldonado on board. (Benoit photo)
Santa Anita press box
ARCADIA, California–Man O Rose became the dual-surface stakes winner Saturday after holding off a tough Lovesick Blues by a nose to win the $100,000 California Flag Handicap for state-bred horses sprinting about 6 ½ furlongs on Santa Anita’s hilly turf track.
With Edwin Maldonado on board for trainer Jeff Mullins, Man O Rose (2-1) enjoyed an ideal ride, coming down the hill in second behind fast splits of 20.88 and 42.43 seconds from Flyover (5-1), who would eventually finish second. Man O Rose took the lead at the eighth pole with just enough left to fend off Lovesick Blues, who were gathering on the outside.
“It was perfect…my horse relaxed, like he almost never does,” Maldonado said. “Once he relaxed, I knew there were a lot of horses to turn back home. It was just a matter of crossing the (dirt) path and leading him straight.”
Maldonado added that at the last minute he was unsure whether Lovesick Blues made its usual late run or not.
“I was just riding. I knew that Lovesick Blues would be the only horse that would really get closer and that it was the horse to beat… I tried to get as much distance from him as possible without going too fast.”
Lovesick Blues (5-2), ridden by Geovanni Franco and trained by Librado Barocio, finished 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Book Smart (6-1) in third place. The winning time was 1:11.07.
“He’s a special racehorse,” Mullins said of the winner. “We were a little concerned about the descent, because he’s just funny when there are horses around him. One way or the other. I said to Edwin, ‘You’re going to have horses all around you today, so you better have a plan.’ But it turned out well. He had a target, went to zero and got the job done.”
Man O Rose, a 5-year-old gelding by Stanford, is B&B Zeitz Stables’ own breeder. This was his third stakes victory and increased his record to 16:9-3-0 with earnings of $440,965. On September 13, Man O Rose won the one-mile EB Johnston Stakes at Los Alamitos for the second year in a row.
As for Lovesick Blues, the California Flag was designed in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at six furlongs on dirt on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Trainer and owner Librado Barocio was pleased with how things turned out.
“The whole goal was to get him closer… today he was a good weight, maybe a little on the heavy side, but this should get him back to the right fighting weight. He ran well,” Barocio said.
Man O Rose paid $6.40, $3.40 and $2.60. Lovesick Blues returned $4.00 and $2.80. Book Smart, ridden by Mike Smith for trainer Bob Hess Jr., paid $4.00.
Live racing resumes on Sunday with a 10-race card starting at 1:00 PM PT. There will be a carryover of $47,317 in the $2 Pick Six, starting with the fifth race at approximately 3:00 PM PT. For more information, visit santaanita.com.
#Man #Rose #blooms #grass #flag #Cali