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

With the virtual racing world focused on two things right now: the KYD and fast two year olds, it can be easy to overlook some of the good races that will be going on this weekend. At GG, the 13th running of the San Francisco Mile brings together a group of successful horses that includes the reigning BC Mile winner. So, take a break from thinking about next week’s big races, or who the fastest two year olds are on the site, and enjoy this Grade 3 race. Last year, three year old Siberian Prince in a race that had a high number of scratches, considering the firm turf on race day. There are three three year olds in this field, and they will have a seven pound weight advantage. How much of a difference will that make? Let’s take a look at the field!

#1- Audioslave (Alydar Stables, ridden by Ro Maragh)- Makes the 20th start of his career and will be hoping for some of the winning ways that the jockey brought him the last time they were together. That was the Grade 1 Malibu last December, a race they won. To do that though, he will have to like the grass as he makes his turf debut here. A couple of disappointing finishes on the main track after the Malibu has the trainer exploring this option.

#2- Green Rush (Pennsville Farm, ridden by A Beschizza)- This has been a consistent horse ever since winning the Grade 3 Red Bank at MTH last September. After that win, he has no further victories, but is five-for-five finishing in the money. Getting a win here would be the biggest triumph of his career, but as of press time it appears as though there will be no lasix administered. That can change, but if it doesn’t, it’s be the first time he ran without it for his career. If that helps him just get an extra tenth, that could be all he needs to turn those in the money finishes into wins.

#3- First Rebellion (Hambletonian Stable, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- The six year old makes the 38th start of his career, and has had a nose for the winners circle, coming out on top 18 times. Interestingly, 18 of his 26 races of finishing in the money have seen him win. That speaks very highly of his stretch desire. Early in his career, he had success in NY-bred races, and more recently has won three of four open allowances. Won a couple graded races in 2017.

#4- Face Your Fears (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- This is the first of our three year olds in the field. In eight starts so far, he’s managed two wins, with the highlight being the Grade 3 With Anticipation. That allowed him to run in the BC Juvenile Turf, and he finished in the middle of the pack. Against his age group so far this year, he has run second twice, but he does seem to be looking for his biggest challenge of the year so far. This will be it.

#5- Stalwart Warrior (Nakamura Stables, ridden by T C Baze)- Looking to pick up his first graded win after a couple of unsuccessful tries. Overall, the Powerful Appeal gelding has done a great job getting some sort of check for his trainer, and picked up a stake win this September in the NY-bred Cole Stakes, topping First Rebellion in that race. This will be T C Baze’s first race on him, though he has a great history with L Saez, who is at OP.

#6- Lucky Phooey (Estero Farms, ridden by L H Colon)- This would seem to be a great race for the reigning BC Mile champion. To top it off, he gets the best turf jockey in horse racing, the one and only L H Colon, to do the riding. What is a mild surprise is that this is only his second race since winning the BC Mile. He did not fare well at the TAM Stakes, and that was with the great Colon aboard, too. I’d like to see this Phooeys Ideal foal have more success, and this is a good bounce back spot for him.

#7- City Of Bones (John Henry, ridden by R Bejarano)- Here is our second three year old in the field. He has six races to his credit, but you can throw out that debut race. He was gelded after that, and has gone on to hit the board in all five races since, though the only win is in a maiden claimer. Working very well coming into this race, and I do like that he doesn’t seem to be intimidated by the type of competition he faces.

#8- Bold God (Riggins Racing, ridden J R Velazquez)- Well, there’s a name I haven’t written in a while, welcome back Riggins! Looks like the trainer reopened the barn doors around on St. Patrick’s Day, and Bold God was his first runner in the return. This will be his first stake runner since then as well, and I look forward to seeing more! The colt has run well since his long layoff with two wins since then. Not too worried about the short turnover now.

#9- Vouch (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by C J Lanerie)- I guess it should not be a surprise that the three trainers bringing in three year olds to this race that are not otherwise a BC winner are three of the bigger names in the game that are part of this field. Vouch has won two of nine, and has been in the money in seven races. He’s attempted a couple of ungraded races, but neither resulted in a win. This would be the biggest win of his career.

Prediction: 4-2-6-7

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES