San Francisco Mile (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
GG- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
April 27, 2019

Coming into the race, things seemed pretty good for City Of Bones. He had been a consistent horse throughout his career and appeared poised to have a great run here. Though we did not put him on top, he was one of our picks, and showed us why in the San Francisco Mile. This is a horse that was gelded after his debut race, and then had moved to running on a mile on the turf with regularity. He’d always hit the board, but he could use some firm turf, as three of his four prior wins were on off tracks. There was a weight advantage that he enjoyed due to being a three year old, but I am not going to get bogged down in making that a storyline here even though, yes, it is the fourth straight win for a three year old in the race. Older horses finished second and third, after all. The winning trainer for City Of Bones is John Henry, and the winning jockey is R Bejarano, each of whom win for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:32.94. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.57)- No one in the field appears to be particularly pushed out to the lead as the rave begins. Eventually, it is Estero Farms’ Lucky Phooey who gets the lead with a stronger run into the turn then some of his nearby rivals. They are four wide a length behind them as our field is not too concerned with early speed. From inside to outside, this group consists of Audioslave (Alydar Stables), Green Rush (Pennsville Farm), Stalwart Warrior (Nakamura Stables), and Vouch (D J C Racing Stables). First Rebellion (Hambletonian Stable) is next, a length behind that group, and nearby to his outside, we see our eventual winner, City Of Bones, for John Henry. Face Your Fears (Mb Stables) and Bold God (Riggins Racing) are the trailers.

(½ Mile- :46.68)- Rounding the opening turn and into the backstretch, Lucky Phooey continues to lead, maintained an advantage of just over a length. There is a cluster of horses behind him running close together, featuring everyone else not named Face Your Fears or Bold God. Face Your Fears is about two length behind the tight pack, while Bold God is another two lengths behind him.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)– Lucky Phooey is doing all he can to maintain the lead, and does so into the turn, but is about to be swallowed up at the top of the stretch. At this point, we can consider this a 1.5 furlong dash for cash. They fan out seven wide behind the lead, and everyone, with the possible exception of First Rebellion had a clear, or almost clear lane, in front of them. Face Your Fears was now involved with this, too. Bold God had the best seat in the house to see the action. City Of Bones was in the fifth lane here. His trip up to this point had been similar to those around him, as he moved to the outside of Stalwart Warrior.

(Finish- 1:32.94)- The dash begins! It didn’t take long to see that City Of Bones was looking just a little better then the others around him, and he pokes a nose in front with about a furlong to go. Stalwart Warrior was giving him a battle, and as for most of the others, it could go any way. Credit City Of Bones with the strong stretch performance to get this win. Behind him, it is officially scored as Stalwart Warrior, Audioslave, Face Your Fears, First Rebellion, and Green Rush. Any of them could have been second, too. Vouch is next, over a tiring Lucky Phooey. Bold God was never involved.

About The Winner- City of Bones, trained by John Henry and ridden to victory by R Bejarano, is a three year old gelding by City Of Angels, and is out of Crease. He was bred in West Virginia by John Henry as a second quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in seven starts, and his first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $250.600.

Track: Firm
Time: :23²  :46³  1:09³  1:32⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 5 Paid 30.50
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 5 – 1 Paid 484.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES