STRYKER PHD PREVAILS IN BERKELEY (G3),
TO REMAIN IN TRAINING THIS WINTER
It’s time for your weekly roundup of local horses and horsemen in the news:
With a head victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Berkeley Handicap (G3) at Golden Gate Fields, Stryker Phd leapfrogged Wasserman, Atta Boy Roy and Rings a Chime into fourth place all-time among Washington-bred earners with $619,841.
Earning $60,000 for his victory in the Berkeley, Stryker Phd is 11-5-6 in 27 career starts, and has earned over $100,000 four straight years for owners Jim and Mona Hour.
Leslie Mawing, who has been aboard for Stryker’s last nine wins, was up Saturday as Stryker Phd rallied from last in a five-horse field for his third graded victory.
A 7-year-old gelding by Bertrando-Striking Scholar, Stryker Phd also ranks among the most versatile runners in Washington history, insofar as track surfaces are concerned. Saturday’s victory over G.G. Ryder in 1:43.67 for 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta was his first on a synthetic surface, and Stryker Phd now has wins on dirt, turf and synthetic. He can handle the mud, too, setting a stakes record while winning the 2014 Budweiser Handicap in the slop.
Trainer Larry Ross said Stryker Phd would remain in training this winter with an eye toward a stakes in the $75,000-$100,000 range at Santa Anita.
“Something mid-January on turf or dirt, it doesn’t matter,” Ross said.
ALL-TIME WASHINGTON-BRED EARNERS
Top 10 Washington-bred earners:
1: $800,212 Saratoga Passage
2: $686,128 Military Hawk
3: $623,367 Peterhof’s Patea
4: $619,841 Stryker Phd
5: $606,315 Rings a Chime
6: $602,276 Atta Boy Roy
7: $599,091 Wasserman
8: $524,472 Noosa Beach
9: $511,695 Captain Condo
10: $508,373 Fast Parade
Note: Stryker Phd also is tied for No. 3 in Emerald Downs’ stakes wins with nine and No. 2 in EmD earnings with $511,266.
MISCELLANEOUS . . .
Eliska Kubinova has surged to a 26-22 lead over Nathan Haar in the Portland Meadows jockeys’ race, with Kassie Guglielmino third with 20 wins. Kubinova has a 27.7 win percentage and is 12-for-46 when riding for Rigoberto Velasquez. . .Miss Fogcutter ($8.20) edged Barb’s Boo by a nose to capture Sunday’s $18,000 Stallion Stakes for 3-year-olds at Portland Meadows. A Washington-bred filly by Rallying Cry, Miss Fogcutter is 3-3 at PM for trainer G D Khalsa and owners Michael Pollowitz and Jeff Wilson, and she leads the meet with $16,610 in earnings. . .Washington-bred Percy’s Bluff ($4) made it four straight wins with a 1 ¼-length victory in an $8,000 starter allowance Sunday at Golden Gate. A 4-year-old by Raise the Bluff, Percy’s Bluff is 6-4-3 in 15 starts this year with earnings of $71,285. . .Jerry Hollendorfer, trainer of Percy’s Bluff, also sent out Longacres Mile winner Point Piper to a second place finish in the $100,000 Native Diver Stakes (G3) at Del Mar. Midnight Storm, coming off a third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, prevailed by 7 ¾ lengths in 1:51.59 for 1 1/8 miles. . .2015 Coca Cola Handicap winner Thetrailerguy ($5.20) ended an eight-race losing streak with a three-quarter length triumph vs. $16,000 claimers Sunday at Turf Paradise. Owned and trained by Ken Person, Thetrailerguy ran 7 ½ furlongs on turf in 1:29.13 while earning a career-high 80 Beyer. . .Rocco Bowen is tied for fifth with 13 wins at Golden Gate. The Bay Area track concludes its relatively short fall meet Sunday, December 11. . . Also at Golden Gate, trainer Frank Lucarelli saddled first-time starter Makaha Heat to a $45.80 upset Sunday in a $33,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. A California-bred by Heatseeker–Be Faithful, Makaha Heat is kin to Emerald Downs’ champions Winning Machine and Champagneandcaviar. . .Only 64 days ’til training begins at Emerald Downs!
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