CYPRESS, Calif. (Dec. 15, 2024) – Going two turns for the first time, Shea Brennan nosed out I’m a Bad Boy to win Sunday’s $100,000 King Glorious Stakes for Golden State Series-eligible 2-year-olds at Los Alamitos.
Shea Brennan is by Tough Sunday, out of the Old Topper mare Carrie Rose, was bred by owner Nick Alexander and trained by Phil D’Amato. He has two wins in five starts with earnings of $144,500.
“He’s a horse with a lot of ability, but he’s just still learning,” said D’Amato. “(Jockey) Antonio (Fresu) said he was still looking around through the stretch. He’s got a lot of heart, grit, determination and I think the two turns helped him a lot today. I thought (the finish) was extremely close, but after watching the slo-mo replay, I thought we had a good chance at it and sure enough they put our number up.’’
The winner withstood a challenge from Tiago Pereira, the rider aboard fourth-place finisher Whiskyginandbrandy.
“He’s a baby and when we were out in front (in the stretch) he was looking around and he didn’t want to leave his company,” said Fresu. “You know there is a gap there (near the eighth pole) and he kind of, like, tried to go in a little bit, but I corrected him straightaway and I actually got passed by the other horse and he came back to win.
“He’s a nice horse. It was my first time riding him (in a race), but I’ve been breezing him in the morning and he showed plenty of ability. It will be good to see what the future holds for him. I thought he had a great chance today. When I breezed him in Del Mar I thought he was a nice horse. I think Phil has been doing a great job with him because, like I say, he’s a little bit quirky. Today, going two turns, I think was the best for him.”
Shea Brennan ran the mile in 1:38.46 at odds of 7-2. Northern California Yearling Sale graduate I’m a Bad Boy was second and even-money favorite R Heisman was third in the field of nine.
With a closing day triple – Dangerous Affair in the first, Dr. Ray D. in the fifth and The Scent in the sixth – Pereira shared the riding title with Fresu. Both had six wins, one more than Armando Ayuso.
Frey was the leader for the year with 16 victories, one more than Pereira.
Daytime thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos in 2025. The Los Angeles County Fair meet – the first of three during the year – is scheduled to begin Friday, June 20 and continue through Sunday, July 6.