California Dreamin Stakes ($150.000 Purse)
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward Foaled in CA
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
July 25, 2021

Weight will make a big difference on Sunday in the California Dreamin Stakes, as eleven pounds separate the low weight from the high weight in the race. In this field of six, we see quite a bit of variance in regards to the weights that each of the horses will carry. Last year, the race was won by Atomic Eclipse, a horse that will be looking for another big win at this track over this very weekend as he runs in the Read Stakes on Saturday. So, by race time here, we’ll know if the La Canada Racehorses gelding pulled that off or not. Our six runners in this race would love to be next year for the Read as well, but for now they’ll go against fellow Californians in this ungraded stake. Let’s meet the field!

#1- Moonlight Special (Allinthegate, ridden by J J Hernandez)- This one will carry 126 pounds for the race, making him second in that category. He can thank winning the Cluer Memorial Stakes at TUP for that in February. He did drop down into that race after a seemingly strong second place finish in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes a month prior. Also, Moonlight Special races here on a four month layoff, as it seems as though, to an outsider, that the trainer does not fully trust this horse. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t, though.

#2- Phooey Politics (Onlineracingclubcom, ridden by U Rispoli)- Here is the low weight for the race, as the Phooeys Ideal gelding will only have to carry 119 pounds for the race. This is thanks to being the lone three year old in the race. Recently, he has been running in stakes like this, against CA-breds, but the results simply do not excite me. We can throw out the last race since it was a try on the dirt, but you can’t throw out all the other ones.

#3- Real Quiet (Night Rider Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- The 124 pounds that this one will carry is the weight that half of the field will, as it is the listed weight for the race without any penalties or allowances. There are some concerns with this one, though, as he has not raced in four and a half months, and he has never run on the grass. The last public work for this horse on the turf came in 2019 so we can give the bad pun here that Night Rider is being real quiet about how this horse might handle the grass. For now, I will have to pass.

#4- Time Warrior (Paradise Stable, ridden by V Espinoza)- This five year old will be carrying 130 pounds for the race, six more than most of the runners here, and as stated in the opening, eleven more than Phooey Politics. In our virtual world, that’s a big deal but not a death sentence. Time Warrior carries that for a reason, thanks to winning the Grade 3 Appleton in March, and is a horse that ran in the BC Mile last year. The bigger concern with him is the way he ran in his last race, the Shoemaker Mile, where he was 11th and beaten by seven lengths. This isn’t the Shoemaker Mile, not even close, but you like to see a better showing than that from one with his resume. He should bounce back well here even if he did not win.

#5- Cool Dude Que (Nakamura Stables, ridden by T J Pereira)- Claimed for $50.000 by the trainer last December, and he has made two starts since then. Most recently, we saw him get a win in an N1X allowance at GG, a race that saw him go wire to wire. Off of that, he will make his stake debut here while carrying 124 pounds. Looks like Nakamura has done some real good work with this one, and he has run a lot better since lasix stopped being applied. Seems poised for a good run, and in a field where it seems like everyone has at least one small red flag to them, I’ll go with Cool Dude Que to step up.

#6- Napoleanic War (Angelos Stable, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- After being picked up in the auction last month, for $30.010 from Mb Stables, this will be his first run with Angelos Stable. He’s been given a handful of graded starts throughout his career, but did not win any of them. Though he did win an ungraded stake as a two year old. Seemed to be a consistent horse for a while, but towards the end of his tenure with Mb Stables, he had a couple duds, and that concerns me somewhat. He’s never carried this much weight, 124 pounds, in a race, either. I think he’ll be fine, but can’t put him on top.

Prediction: 5-6-4-1

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded