Harris Farms’ Soi Phet Stakes Connections

Edited from Los Alamitos Publicity Cypress, CA (June 25, 2020) – Fresh off a gate-to-wire 92-1 shocker in the Crystal Water Stakes on the Santa Anita turf, Grinning Tiger will try to remain perfect at Los Alamitos in the $100,000 Soi Phet Saturday.

A one-mile event for 3-year-olds & up bred or sired in California, the Soi Phet – which was formerly named the Bertrando (2014-2019) – is the eighth of nine races. Post time is 1 p.m. Approximate post time for the Soi Phet is 4:30 p.m.

The stakes honors a gelded son of Tizbud, who won five stakes at Los Alamitos – including the race now named for him in 2014 and 2018 – for the Benowitz Family Trust, Mathilde Powell and Paul Viskovich and trainer Leonard Powell. Soi Phet, who was claimed for $16,000 in the spring of 2013 at Hollywood Park, retired at age 11 in 2019 with more than $1 million in earnings.

Owned by Tyree Wolesensky and trained by Anthony Saavedra, Grinning Tiger ended a five-race losing streak with his Crystal Water stunner, defeating seven rivals by nearly two lengths at the same distance he will be running Saturday.

Both of his wins at Los Alamitos were 7-1 upsets in sprints. He defeated state bred optional claimers going 5 ½ furlongs during the 2019 Summer Thoroughbred Festival and led throughout to win an optional claimer during the Los Angeles County Fair meet nearly two months later.

A son of Smiling Tiger and the Pioneering mare Karlee’s Kitten, Grinning Tiger has won eight of 27 and banked $209,801.

Take the One O One will bid for a second consecutive win for owner Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable and trainer Brian Koriner. The 5-year-old Acclamation horse went gate-to-wire at the Soi Phet distance May 22 in Arcadia.

Out of the Jump Start mare North Freeway, Take the One O One is 5-for-13 with earnings of $382,306.

Claimed for $20,000 by trainer Andrew Lerner for Alydom Racing LLC out of a turf win May 25, Three Ay Em, who has won four of 13 and earned $125,799, will be looking for his second tally at Los Alamitos.

From inside out, the field for the Soi Phet Stakes: Brandothebartender, Umberto Rispoli rides, 119 pounds; King Abner, Abel Cedillo, 119; Take the One O One, Jose Valdivia, Jr., 119; Three Ay Em, Aaron Gryder, 119; Loud Mouth, Drayden Van Dyke, 119; Grinning Tiger, Heriberto Figueroa, 124; Lymebyrd, Tiago Pereira, 119 and Galilean, Juan Hernandez, 119.