CYPRESS, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2018) – Former claimer Shades of Victory turned his first dirt route into a stunning upset in Saturday’s $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes for California-breds at Los Alamitos.
Shades of Victory’s win price of $162.60 was the second largest since daytime thoroughbred racing returned to Los Alamitos in 2014. Devils Triangle, who won the fourth race Dec. 11, 2016, holds the record at $185.80.
Owned by trainer Reed Saldana and bred by C-Punch Ranch, the 5-year-old son of Thorn Song, out of the Street Sense mare Sensible Girl, has five wins in 17 starts and earnings of $136,449. He is 2-for-5 since Saldana claimed him for $12,500 April 7 at Golden Gate.
“Down the stretch I was just hoping he could hold on,” said Saldana. “(Jockey) Martin (Pedroza) rode a great race. We decided to run him here because another race we wanted to run in at Del Mar didn’t fill, so this worked out great. I thought the distance would be to his benefit. One of the reasons I claimed him was because he had won a race at Sacramento where he showed a lot of fight just like he did today.’’
Shades of Victory ran the mile in 1:35.17 and won by a head over B Squared, with odds-on favorite Edwards Going Left third in the field of seven.