From Los Alamitos Publicity
CYPRESS, Calif. (June 21, 2020) — Galilean and Grinning Tiger, a combined 4-for-4 at Los Alamitos, are among 12 nominees to the $100,000-guaranteed Soi Phet Stakes, a one-mile race for 3-year-olds & up bred or sired in California.
The seventh renewal of the race formerly known as the Bertrando will be run Saturday, June 27, the second day of the Summer Thoroughbred Festival at Los Alamitos.
The race honors Soi Phet, a gelded son of Tizbud trained by Leonard Powell for the Benowitz Family Trust, Mathilde Powell and Paul Viskovich who won five stakes races at Los Alamitos before his retirement at age 11 in 2019. The first of his local victories came in the inaugural Bertrando in 2014 and he won the race again in 2018.
Owned by a partnership that includes West Point Thoroughbreds and trained by John Sadler, Galilean, a 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo, scored in his career debut at Los Alamitos Sept. 22, 2018 then captured the King Glorious Stakes by nine lengths nearly three months later. Both of those victories came for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Grinning Tiger, who scored a pair of 7-1 upsets in sprints in 2019 in his first two races at Los Alamitos, comes off a shocking gate-to-wire win in the Crystal Water Stakes on the Santa Anita grass June 6.
Owned by Tyree Wolesensky and trained by Anthony Saavedra, the 92-1 stunner was the eighth win in 27 starts for the 5-year-old son of Smiling Tiger.
Other nominees include Brandothebartender, Cono, 4-year-old fillies D’s Lovely Sophia and Silk From Heaven, King Abner, fifth in this race a year ago, Lieutenant Dan, Loud Mouth, Lymebyrd, Take the One O One and Three Ay Em.
Entries for the Soi Phet Stakes will be taken Wednesday, June 24.