From Los Alamitos Publicity
CYPRESS, Calif. (Dec. 16, 2018) – Heavily-favored Galilean rolled to a nine-length victory in the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes for Golden State Series eligible 2-year-olds on Sunday, the final day of the Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos.
Able to establish the lead immediately under jockey Flavien Prat, the 2-year-old son of Uncle Mo set moderate early fractions with 7-2 second choice Our Silver Oak in close pursuit, then kicked away in the final quarter of a mile to score in 1:35.06 for the mile.
A $600,000 purchase at the Barretts sale in April, Galilean, who is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Denise Barker and William Sandbrook and trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, is now 2-for-3 and the $57,000 payday pushed his earnings to $151,000.
Galilean, who is out of the El Prado mare Fresia, was bred by Bar C Racing Stable. He has earned both of his wins at Los Alamitos. He captured the Barretts Juvenile in his Sept. 22 debut during the Los Angeles County Fair meet.
The 1-5 favorite in the race restricted to horses bred or sired in California, Galilean paid $2.40 and $2.10. There was no show wagering. Our Silver Oak, who finished three lengths clear of 37-1 shot Feeling Strong, returned $2.20 to place.
Hollendorfer, who trained King Glorious, whose wins included the 1988 Hollywood Futurity and the 1989 Haskell, was happy Galilean was able to pass his first test around two turns.
“The fact that he can route makes a big difference,’’ he said. “He has speed and if we can make him tactical as well we’ll be in a lot better position.
“I thought (Our Silver Oak) would try to pressure us, but (Prat) rated him well on the front end. He went a pretty slow first quarter and half mile and a good horse should be able to handle those type of fractions.
“He asked him a little bit and he got a quick response at the top of the stretch. We’re taking one step at a time with him.’’
Completing the order of finish were the Hollendorfer-trained Tivan, who was making his initial appearance outside of Golden Gate Fields, Principe Carlo and Its Five Somewhere. Poppy’s C Note was scratched.
Earlier in the afternoon, Spokane Eagle established a track record for seven furlongs when taking the third race in his first start since being claimed for $16,000 Nov. 24.
The 4-year-old Speightstown gelding completed the distance in 1:21.09, bettering the mark of Fighter Squadron set Dec. 13, 2014.
Evin Roman rode Spokane Eagle, a 6-1 shot who scored after a pace-pressing trip, for a partnership and trainer Vann Belvoir.