Alert Bay faces tough test in Seabiscuit

Alert Bay, a 4-year-old gelding, has amassed a collection of stakes wins throughout the West in the last year for owner Peter Redekop of British Columbia and trainer Blaine Wright. Along the way, Alert Bay has won stakes at Hastings Park in Vancouver, Zia Park in New Mexico, and at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita.

Del Mar might be next on his list of stakes-winning venues.

On Friday, Alert Bay is part of a tough field of nine in the $250,000 Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Del Mar. The Grade 2 Seabiscuit has been on Wright’s mind since Alert Bay won the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.

Alert Bay was considered for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 31 before Redekop and Wright decided to stay in California. Alert Bay won an allowance race at Golden Gate Fields on Nov. 6 in a prep race for the Seabiscuit.

“I would hope he got a lot out of the last race,” Wright said on Wednesday. “He’s trained super since that last race.”

At the same time, Wright acknowledged that the Seabiscuit might be Alert Bay’s toughest test. He will face Bal a Bali, who has won 13 of 16 starts in Brazil and California, and Seek Again, a Grade 1-class runner trained by Bill Mott.

“We need to see if he can run with them,” Wright said. “They’re running serious numbers.”

So is Alert Bay. By City Zip, Alert Bay has won 11 of 20 starts and earned $980,235. After finishing third in the Longacres Mile on dirt at Emerald Downs in August, Alert Bay has won three consecutive races, all on turf.

“We’re focused on turf right now,” Wright said. “We’ve spaced our races with this horse. We’ll see if he can get over that turf course.”

Mario Gutierrez will ride Alert Bay for the first time. Russell Baze was aboard for the recent allowance win but is riding at Golden Gate Fields on Friday. Martin Garcia rode Alert Bay in the City of Hope Mile but is riding at Churchill Downs on Friday.

Gutierrez was selected partly because of his connections to British Columbia racing, where he rode before relocating to Southern California in 2011.

“From our focal point, Mario is riding terrific right now,” Wright said.

Wright said he has no race goals for Alert Bay beyond the Seabiscuit, but top-class turf races at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting are certain to be in the discussion. There is also the convenience of lucrative stakes for California-breds to consider. Last January, Alert Bay won the $250,500 California Cup Turf Classic for statebreds at Santa Anita.

It is possible that the 2016 season could include a start in the BC Mile at Santa Anita next November.

“You have high hopes for something like that,” Wright said. “It’s so far away. It’s on the West Coast, and if we had him going good, we’d look at a race like that.”

The Seabiscuit Handicap is the first of five graded stakes on turf that highlight the final three days of racing at the Del Mar autumn meeting. Los Alamitos opens a three-week winter meeting Dec. 3 that leads to the start of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting Dec. 26.

The $300,000 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Saturday is one of two Grade 1 races this weekend. The $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf Sunday is the top race on closing day.

The Hollywood Derby field is led by Om, the winner of the Del Mar Derby in September and Twilight Derby at Santa Anita last month.