Acceptance's connections opt for Golden State Juvenile

One of the most exciting 2-year-old maiden-race winners in Southern California this fall will not be in a Breeders’ Cup race.

Acceptance, a colt by Vronsky, won his debut last Sunday by 13 1/4 lengths in a maiden race for California-breds over 6 1/2 furlongs. Acceptance was timed in 1:15.27.

“I wish he hadn’t made it so close at the finish,” co-owner Bud Johnston said. “He was very impressive. We thought he was a good colt.”

The win will lead to a start in the $200,000 Golden State Juvenile on Nov. 1, part of the undercard of the Breeders’ Cup Saturday program. Eventually, Johnston said he would consider trying Acceptance on turf.

“That’s our next objective,” he said of the Nov. 1 race. “There are plenty of races to run in when they get the job done. We don’t run too many 2-year-olds. I wanted to get him started early.”

Ridden by Elvis Trujillo for trainer Don Warren, Acceptance broke from post 2 in a field of 13 on Sunday. Fifth early, Acceptance emerged between runners on the backstretch and took the lead on the turn.

“I pictured him winning, but when he got that bad post, I was concerned,” Johnston said. “He got out of the little bit of trouble that he had.”

Delgadillo will sit three days

Jockey Agapito Delgadillo has been suspended three days for causing interference in the first race last Saturday.

Delgadillo, 48, was cited for his ride aboard Really a Princess in the race for maiden claimers. Really a Princess finished second but drifted out in the final sixteenth. Awe Gee won the race by a neck over Really a Princess.

Delgadillo’s suspension begins Saturday and runs through Monday.

Upcoming stakes

After two weekends filled with Breeders’ Cup preps, the pace slows considerably this weekend. The richest stakes of the racing week are Saturday’s $100,000 California Distaff Handicap for statebred fillies and mares on the hillside turf course and Monday’s $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-olds over six furlongs.

The California Distaff Handicap has a projected field of 12, including five stakes winners – Ciao Bella Luna, Go West Marie, Qiaona, Tribal Spy, and Warren’s Veneda.

Tribal Spy is the 123-pound highweight. Trained by Adam Kitchingman, Tribal Spy won two stakes on the hillside turf course in the spring, most notably the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Handicap in April.