Shea Brennan begins campaign in Bertrando
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The 4-year-old colt Shea Brennan has the right credentials to win the second stakes of his career in Saturday’s $100,000 Bertrando Stakes for statebred milers at Los Alamitos, his first start of 2026.
How many rivals Shea Brennan will face will not be known until race day.
The Bertrando Stakes drew a field of six, but under one scenario could have only four starters. Shea Brennan is trained by Phil D’Amato, who also entered Speedy Wilson, a two-time stakes winner who was a game second in a seven-furlong allowance race against open company at Santa Anita on May 2.
D’Amato cautioned on Wednesday that he was taking a wait-and-see approach on Speedy Wilson’s participation.
“I could enter him and take a look,” he said.
The same applies to the veteran None Above the Law, who won the 2024 Bertrando Stakes. None Above the Law won an allowance/optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita last Saturday when entered to be claimed for $50,000.
Trainer Peter Miller said on Thursday that he has yet to finalize plans for the 8-year-old None Above the Law, who could be held out of the Bertrando in favor of a start in July.
Shea Brennan, owned and bred by Nick Alexander, won the King Glorious Stakes for 2-year-old statebred milers at Los Alamitos in December 2024.
In five starts last year, Shea Brennan won once, in an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar in August, and was later beaten in two stakes for statebreds – a fourth-place finish in the California Flag Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita in October, and a third in The Chosen Vron Stakes on dirt at Del Mar in November.
Shea Brennan has had a steady pattern of workouts since early April for his comeback. The King Glorious is Shea Brennan’s only previous start at Los Alamitos.
“He likes it over there” at Los Alamitos, D’Amato said. “This should be a good race to kick him off.”
The Bertrando could lead to Shea Brennan’s graded stakes debut in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on July 18, D’Amato said.
The Bertrando is the first start in a stakes for the red-hot 6-year-old Coach Cronin.
A winner of 6 of 15 starts, Coach Cronin is on a three-race winning streak since mid-February.
Claimed for $16,000 at Del Mar last August, Coach Cronin won four of his next six starts for trainer Mark Glatt through March.
Coach Cronin was purchased for $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton April digital sale. He now races for Paradise Farms Corp. and trainer Bob Hess Jr.
In his first start for Hess, Coach Cronin led throughout an allowance race at a mile on dirt at Santa Anita on May 9.
Coach Cronin is likely to set the pace in the Bertrando. Mike Smith, who was aboard Coach Cronin for his last two wins, has the mount.
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