El Camino (Grade 3) (KYD)- $200.000 Purse
For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
February 13, 2016

Earlier this year, Rising Light finished 10th in the Grade 3 Jerome, but was coming on at the end of the race.  Despite that late push, trainer Nakamura Stables decided that Rising Light needed a little more to be as good of a KYD contender as others in his barn, such as Symboli Rudolf.  As many trainers choose to do, Rising Light was gelded later that day after running in the Jerome.  The El Camino marked the first time that Rising Light would race as a gelding, and if Nakamura Stables wanted an answer as to whether or not gelding him was the right decision, he got that response emphatically today as he showed impressive heart to hold on and pick up a win in this Derby prep.  It marks the first time that Nakamura Stables has been able to win the El Camino, and the same holds true for jockey W Antongrgi III.  The race winning time of 1:48.24 is a new record for the stake!  Congratulations to the winners!  Let’s look a little more at how this went down.

1st- 5- Rising Light (10/1)- Our eventual race winner from Nakamura Stables got off to a good start, and always seemed to have a good position on the race track.   He would be third early, sitting just off the lead in a clear lane about two lengths back into the backstretch.  Stayed this distance back for most of the backstretch before inching his way closer as they approached the final turn.  In this turn, W Antongrgi III encouraged his new gelding to pick it up, and while the ground gained on Mach Force wasn’t quite as apparent right away, this did give him some separation to the rest of the field.  Drew level with Mach Force just as the run down the stretch began.   Momentarily, it looked like Rising Light was drawing away, but a valiant effort by Mach Force to come back on him, plus a powerful late effort by For The Record meant that Rising Light had to fight all the way until the very end to get this win.  This new gelding showed that heart needed in this one!  Congratulations to the connections!  Rising Light is a three old gelding by Laffin Five (by Die Laffin), and out of Relampago Wonder.  He was bred in Florida by Nakamura Stables as a yearling, and they have been together throughout.  Congrats again!

2nd- 2 (dh)- For The Record (22/1)- The Barcelona Farms entry was getting ready to do his best running later in this race, and would be near the rear of the field early, surrounded by High Pride and Lucky Santa.  In the turn, it was clear that Ru Gonzalez was going to have to slice and dice his way through the pack in order for For The Record to have a shot.    Thanks to Black Mach One’s move, For The Record could follow him along during the turn and then position himself for an outside move around that one on exit of the turn.  His stretch run was very impressive, and certainly something for all of us to remember as these Derby Preps go on.  The top two were going at each other hard, and even with that, For The Record gained a length on them in the final half furlong of this race.

2nd – 9 (dh)- Mach Force (3/1)- Shot out of the gate for his trainer, Eastern Equine, and would be able to clear the field in time to be able to get over to the second lane for the run around the opening turn.  Continued to hold a length or so advantage into the backstretch while setting the opening half mile fraction in :47.17.  Ran well in the backstretch, and continued to lead the field into the turn, but Rising Light was making a move.  It looked as though Rising Light was going to get by and leave Mach Force in his dust, but Mach Force was not about to have that.   In the stretch, this gritty Plucky Mach foal actually began to become resurgent, and with a second wind, took another shot at Rising Light.  Unfortunately for the trainer, the wire came up just a stride too soon, but this effort allowed him to get a share of second with For The Record.

4th- 4- Black Mach One (6/1)- In his first race for new trainer Smokey Stover, Black Mach One would get off to a fairly good start, riding the rail early just to the inside of the eventual race winning Rising Light.   He appeared to want to make a move in the backstretch to get closer to the front, but Winning Barbarino was in his way, and he would have to wait until Rising Light got a little closer to the leader, before he could make his way around that one.  Responded well with a nice effort at the top of the stretch, but the top two were not about to let up, and For The Record was coming like a train behind him.  In the end, Smokey Stover would have been hoping for a better finish, but he did get a good run out of his new horse and enough to be optimistic about his purchase going forward.

5th- 1- High Pride (7/1)- Jockey L A Mawing was looking to win his fourth El Camino Stakes with this Mb Stables entry, but High Pride would not start all that well and be near the back early.  This did demonstrate a deviation from his normal running style.  Maintained his ground over the course of the turn and into the stretch, but when For The Record, who had been beside him most of the way made his move, High Pride was not able to do the same.  He was ok in the stretch, but needed more.

6th- 3- Lucky Santa (12/1)- The Aer Stables entry had a mediocre beginning start to the race, content to ride in the middle of the pack before settling about five lengths from the pacesetters early.  He would maintain this position for the backstretch trip, but A Cedillo looked to move him forward aggressively to the outside during the turn.  This move began at about the same time as For The Record would, but he clearly did not have the same power in his stride as did that one.

7th- 10- Southern Cal (11/1)- As most expected, the usual late running Southern Cal was near the back of the pack in the early furlongs for trainer Alydar Stables.   He would begin to pull away from the two that he had been running with, but still had quite a bit of ground to make up as they moved into the stretch, still being almost six lengths out of it.  In the stretch, he ran fairly well, but could only pick up a few spots.

8th- 7- Winning Barbarino (12/1)- Looked good out of the gate, and would be beaten only by Mach Force the first time they hit the start-finish line and moved around the first turn.  The Red Square Stables trailed the pacesetter by a length or so into the backstretch.  However, during the backstretch, Winning Barbarino was soundly beaten by this rivals, and by the time they were midway into the final turn, he was steadily losing spots.

9th- 8- Blue Guy (7/1)- The Grimley colt got off to a pretty good start, and would have a good position on the race track as they moved around the opening turn, being just to the outside of Rising Light in the third lane with clear track in front of him.  During the backstretch and into the turn, it became apparent that Blue Guy was not going to have a push forward as the likes of For The Record and Lucky Santa easily went by.   He would come up flat in the stretch.

10th- 11- Mugarooni (40/1)- The longshot out of Mo Mentum Farm was never able to get his few supporters in the crowd screaming like the might win the lottery. He would also go back to the rear of the field and would keep Sunny Gabe company before proving to be a little better then him in the stretch.

11th- 6- Sunny Gabe (6/1)- The LionKing Stables entry had the best seat in the house, being able to watch the action unfold in front of him for the entire duration of the race.  He would go promptly to the back and never put forth a challenge.

Track: Fast
Time: :47   1:10⁴  1:35²  1:48¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 2 Paid 123.80, 5 – 9 Paid 35.50
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 2 – 9 Paid 705.00, 5 – 9 – 2 Paid 353.00

Scratched: Pentagon

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES