DEL MAR, Calif. (Nov. 22, 2015) — Peter Redekop’s Alert Bay will head down to Southern California from his Golden Gate Fields home base again to seek his fourth straight victory Nov. 27, facing fellow California-bred Big Bane Theory in the $250,000 Seabiscuit Handicap (gr. IIT) at Del Mar.
A winner of 11 races in 20 starts, including eight stakes (four graded), Alert Bay rallied four wide to win the City of Hope Mile (gr. IIT) at Santa Anita Sept. 27, his last appearance Southern California. He is by City Zip, out of the Dushyantor mare Hickory, was bred by Thomas Bell and Ross McLeod and is trained by Blaine Wright. He has earnings of $980,235.
Fellow City of Hope runner Big Bane Theory (seventh) returns to challenge in the 1 1/16-mile Seabiscuit. He is by Artie Schiller, out of the Alysheba mare Shebane, was bred by owners Scott Gross and Mark Devereaux and is trained by Carla Gaines. He has four wins in 18 starts, earnings of $390,540 and is coming off a third in an Oct. 30 optional claimer. He was fifth in this race last year.
The Blaine Wright-trained Alert Bay had a race between, when he gamely held off a field full of stakes winners in an allowance prep for the Seabiscuit Nov. 6 at Golden Gate.
“We thought he’d need a race,” Wright said Nov. 6. “We certainly got our prep race in. He was blowing good after the race. He had to reach down and run real hard. This should set us up real nice. I’m glad we got to run him and I’m glad we came out on top.”
Alert Bay’s streaky nature is well-established. Early in 2014, he won three straight races, went winless in three stakes in the middle of the year, then rattled off five straight wins from September to January all in stakes—the British Columbia Derby (Can-III), BC Premier’s Handicap (Can-III), Zia Park Derby, Mathis Brothers Mile (gr. IIT), and California Cup Turf Classic. He went winless in another three stakes before starting his current streak with a victory in the Rolling Green Stakes at Golden Gate Sept. 7.