San Carlos Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
March 9, 2019

Part of the exciting day of racing at SA that we will be able to enjoy will include the 15th running of the Grade 2 San Carlos, and Saturday Khartoum will be looking to win it for the second consecutive year. That is a feat that has not been accomplished in this race as of yet. Past winners of the race include Alpha Ultimo, who won the inaugural race, and always deserves a chance to be mentioned whenever possible. It was only a $150.000 race at that time. The purse peaked in 2016 to $300.000, and this year is a $50.000 drop from Saturday Khartoum’s race last year. Let’s meet our full field!

#1- Nice Dive (Threshold, ridden by V Espinoza)- Acquired in June from Smokey Stover, Nice Dive has run well in his new silks in four tries, highlighted by a win in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap against the likes of Made To Sin. That would be the only race of the four, though, that he would run on the main track. While he has done well on the grass, too, it’s interesting to see how he will fare here. The trainer is certainly happy to have the rail for the race, and Nice Dive should have a good shot here.

#2- Crop Duster (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- The best moments for this gelding came when he was a three year old. His career took a downswing last year, being winless until December, where he won a $15.000 TUP allowance, a far cry from his IA Derby winning form. He followed that win up this year against better in a $75.000 ungraded stake, so is Crop Duster ready to take on graded competition again? We’ll see on Saturday.

#3- Di Farley (Gdp Inc, ridden by R Bejarano)- Four months ago, Di Farley would become the champion of the BC Dirt Mile, highlighting a 14-race 2018 season, and helped get him to where he is now with over $1,000.000 in earnings. Last month, he ran in an optional claimer against four others, and was only second, and only mustered a 93 SRF. We know he is very capable, and he has been getting more rest as of late, too. Really has no excuses and needs to remind us that he is a BC Champ here.

#4- Glorious (Spankys Barn, ridden by D Van Dyke)- Though it did only take $10.000 to acquire him from LionKing Stables, more was really expected out of Glorious. He is winless in five starts with Spankys Barn, though had one great showing, running second in the Grade 1 SA Sprint Championship in October. Van Dyke has been a regular rider of late, and will be looking to make his mount glorious again.

#5- Audioslave (Alydar Stables, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- At 128 pounds, thanks to winning the Grade 1 Malibu here back in December, Audioslave will carry four more pounds then everyone in the field except for the three year old, and where he carries seven more. As good as he was to win the Malibu, he did not fare well in the mud at the Pegasus World Cup, tiring out late and placing dead last. He will be happy to go back to the Malibu distance, but the weight is the issue here.

#6- Cheapsnake (John Henry, ridden by J Talamo)- Up until his last start, the Snakie gelding had been very consistent, so he will be looking to put the Razorback Handicap behind him here. If you throw that out, his form looks a lot better. Given that he remains on the main track, when a lot of his prior good races were on the grass, I am thinking that the trainer is aware of why that result happened and isn’t concerned about it. Worked nicely at AQU last week, then came back to SA. Perhaps that convinced the trainer to fly him back to California, too.

#7- Saturday Khartoum (Rousee, ridden by M E Smith)- As mentioned, he was the winner of the San Carlos last year, and will seek to become the first two-time winner of this race. That race was held in late June last year, so it has only been 8 ½ months since then, and he has only appeared in four races in the interim. Only one of them have not been on an off track, too. Won the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap, then just missed in the Grade 1 Cigar Handicap. Plenty still to like, and he will have a great shot!

#8- Handsome (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Around this time last year, Handsome picked up a win the SUN Derby, allowing him to compete in the KYD. That’s about all that can be said about his attempts at the KYD, BEL, and the Travers. When not against the elite, his race lines are better, but he still looks a bit unimpressive to me on current form. Has not had a public work since the end of January. Never count anyone out, but I’ll pass on him here.

#9- Freak Storm (Mo Mentum, ridden by T C Baze)- In late January, he won the CA Cup Sprint right here, coming at six furlongs. It was a victory that snapped a 14-race winless streak that began when he attempted the BC Turf Sprint back in 2017. He’s cashed several checks in the meantime though, in both Grade 2’s and Grade 3’s, so as he makes his 32nd career start here, he still must be respected for his ability to run with the lead group at the end.

#10- Out On A Limb (Estero Farms, ridden by J R Velazquez)- He was part of the field last year when Saturday Khartoum won this race, but his story will see him looking to avenge a seventh place finish. For Out On A Limb, the race following this one was the Grade 1 Whitney, and he picked up the win, then running for Jader Stable. His first race for Estero was the BC Classic, though finished near the back. He recovered fine, winning the Grade 3 Toboggan in the slop in January at AQU, defeating Saturday Khartoum (and Indistinguishable). This year might be his turn to win the San Carlos.

#11- Along For The Ride (Fractious, ridden by L H Colon)- The Pinkman gelding has made many graded starts over the course of his career, and even appeared in the BC Juvenile, but he has never actually won one of those graded races. The big win for him came in December in the CC Rapid Transit. Hoping for better, he ran graded in his last start, the General George, and lived up to his name, as he was merely along for the ride, failing to beat anyone. Worked brilliantly here though on Monday. We’ll give him another chance to shine!

#12- It’s A Laugher (Aer Stables, ridden by S X Brigmohan)- The lone three year old in the field, and this will give him a three pound weight allowance over all of the older horses other then Audioslave, where his allowance is seven pounds. He’s lightly races, with just four starts to his credit right now. After breaking his maiden, Aer Stables saw something in him, and purchased him for $200.000 from Serenity Stables, and he would run in the Holy Bull after that. He was not a factor in that race. Likely the KYD chase was called off with this entry, and we’ll see how he handles the older crowd.

Prediction: 10-7-3-1

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES