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From Los Alamitos Publicity
CYPRESS, Calif. (Dec. 15, 2019) – Making his first start around two turns on dirt, Club Aspen drew off late to post an 8-1 upset in the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes for Golden State Series eligibles on Sunday at Los Alamitos, the final day of the Winter Thoroughbred meet.

Bred by Harris Farms, trained by Craig Lewis for his brother Larry and ridden by apprentice Jorge I. Velez, the 2-year-old Clubhouse Ride colt out of the Talkin Man mare Aspen Gal tracked pacesetter and 3-5 favorite Tap Back for most of the trip, then kicked away in the final eighth of a mile to win by 2 ½ lengths.

The victory was the second in seven starts for Club Aspen, who completed the mile in 1:36.28 in a race restricted to juveniles bred or sired in California. He paid $19.40 and $4.80 while increasing his bankroll to $118,211. There was no show wagering.

“He looked like the winner to me every jump of the way,’’ said Lewis. “I never had a doubt he would handle the two turns.

“He’s had some excuses. In his turf race (sixth in the Zuma Beach Oct. 6) he never had a chance to run. He was in trouble from start to finish, and in the (Golden State Juvenile) he was compromised by drawing the inside post in a huge field.

“I think both of those races were better than they appeared on paper and I think he showed it today.’’

Club Aspen’s success completed a Sunday hat trick for Velez and gave him his third riding title of the year at Los Alamitos. He finished the Winter meet with nine wins, the same number he had in leading the Summer Thoroughbred Festival (June 29-July 14) and he led the Los Angeles County Fair season (Sept. 7-22) with 14.

“There’s a long stretch here, but I like it,’’ said Velez. “You have to be patient. I’m grateful to all the owners and trainers for the success I’ve had. I love riding here.

“(Tap Back) was the horse to beat, so I wanted to follow him around the track and see if I could beat him. I liked this colt’s maiden win (Aug. 2) at Del Mar.’’

Benoit Photo

by DMTC.com
Del Mar, CA (November 24, 2019)-Scoring his fourth consecutive victory, even-money favored Fashionably Fast resisted the stretch challenge of Oliver to register a half-length triumph in the featured $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes Sunday at Del Mar.

Always prominent under regular pilot Tiago Pereira, Fashionably Fast took the lead in upper stretch and prevailed gamely in 1:22.13 for the seven furlongs. Oliver, the lone three-year-old in a field of five older California-bred runners, was a clear second, a length and one-half ahead of third-place Ultimate Bango, with Grinning Tiger fourth and longshot Shades of Victory fifth and last. Withdrawn from the sprint was Rick’s Dream.

Fashionably Fast, a four-year-old gelded son of Lucky Pulpit, was bred by the Harris Farms of John Harris who co-owns the horse with partners Per Antonsen and Paul Nicoletti. Dean Pederson is the trainer.

Fashionably Fast was a two-time winner last summer at Del Mar and in October won the Harris Farms Stakes at the Fresno Fair.

He returned $4.20, $2.40 and $2.10 to his backers Sunday and first money of $60,000 increased his earnings to $302,745. It was his fifth win in 14 career starts. Runner-up Oliver paid $3 and $2.20, while Ultimate Bango returned $2.40 to show.

There were no perfect tickets in the Pick Six Sunday, so a carryover of $51,254 will be in effect when racing resumes Friday with a first post of 12:30 p.m.

TIAGO PEREIRA (Fashionably Fast, winner) – “I thought I’d be laying about third. I thought the 5 (Oliver) would go. But we came out of there really well and he’s plenty fast and he went to the front. Then he was running so easy I wasn’t going to take him back. I just let him go. I know this horse (he’s ridden him in nine of his last 10 starts) and I know how good he can be. Four in a row. That’s good.”

DEAN PEDERSON (Fashionably Fast, winner) – “Him maturing quite a bit has played a big roll (in his four straight wins), and obviously taking the blinkers off has helped. It helps him feel a little more relaxed in his running style. He’s a handy horse you can place where you want to and he has been a godsend to us. He has been a remarkable horse over a short period of time for us.”

FRACTIONS: :22.59 :44.99 1:09.49 1:22.13

The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Pereira and his first in the Cary Grant. He now has six stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first ever at Del Mar for trainer Pederson.

The winning owners are John Harris of Sanger, CA, and Per Antonsen and Paul Nicoletti. Harris also bred the winner.

Vassar Photo

ALBANY, Calif. (Nov. 16, 2019) – Multiple stakes winner Baja Sur, a Washington-bred sophomore son of California stallion Smiling Tiger, sizzled to a 4 and 1/4 length win in Saturday’s $52,150 Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate.

Baja Sur is out of the Supremo mare Premo Copy and ran the six furlongs in 1:08.68. He has six wins and a second in six starts with earnings of $136,800. His second place finish, the only blemish on his record, was in the Harris Farms Stakes at Fresno.