Alert Bay exits Premiers win pointing to Zia Park Derby

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Anita Bolton said Alert Bay came out of his win over older horses in the Grade 3, $100,000 Premiers at Hastings last Monday in excellent shape and will be heading south, possibly for the $200,000 Zia Park Derby at Zia Park on Nov. 26. Last year, For Cash, another horse coming out of Western Canada, won the 1 1/16-mile race. Trained by Dale Greeenwood, For Cash paid $34.60 for the biggest win of his career.

If Alert Bay does make it to the Zia Park Derby, he won’t be nearly that big of a price. A proven stakes winner in Southern California prior to knocking off the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby and Premiers in his two starts at Hastings, Alert Bay has much stronger credentials going into the race than For Cash did last year.

Alert Bay was on his toes Wednesday, dragging around his groom, Jennifer Tompkins, who was having a hard time restraining him despite using a lip chain.

“Look at him,” said Bolton. “He’s been bouncing around the shed row for the past two days. He ran hard, so I thought he might need some time off, but he couldn’t be doing any better.”

Bolton said Alert Bay will be shipped back to California, where he will be reunited with trainer Blaine Wright. Prior to coming to Hastings, Alert Bay won three races for Wright, including the $200,000 Echo Eddie for California-breds at Santa Anita.

He is owned by Peter Redekop.

“Mr. Redekop said they were looking at the Zia Park Derby for his next race,” said Bolton. “They are just starting to work on how to get him there.”

The Premiers was the first time Alert Bay ran over a wet track, and not surprisingly, he didn’t have any trouble handling the sloppy conditions. He previously had won on turf, Tapeta, and dirt rated fast at Santa Anita.