CYPRESS, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2018) – Galilean, a California-bred son of Uncle Mo making his racing debut, won Saturday’s $100,000 Barretts Juvenile Stakes for 2-year-olds at Los Alamitos.
A $600,000 purchase in April at Barretts, Galilean is out of the El Prado mare Fresia, was bred by Bar C Racing Stables, is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Denise Barker and William Sandbrook and is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.
“He broke a step slow, but he recovered quickly and showed really good speed,” said Hollendorfer. “I didn’t think they would go that fast (21.65 and 44.86 for the opening half mile), but they did and he handled it just fine. I’m happy. He’ll improve off that race. I’ve got a lot to work with because he’s got really good size and carries really good weight.
“Terry Finley (president and chief executive officer of West Point Thoroughbreds) picked this horse and made the decision to buy him. I was lucky enough to get him to train. I’m very happy to work for those folks.’’
The 4-5 favorite in the field of six, Galilean dueled My Mandate into submission at the top of the stretch, extended his lead to 1 ½ lengths in midstretch, then held on for a neck win over Seven Scents with fellow Cal-bred Our Silver Oak third.
“He’s a very classy horse and was well prepared,” said jockey Drayden Van Dyke. “He got passed at the head of the stretch, but he dug back in and that was really impressive. That’s a long stretch for a 2-year-old making his first start.’’