Alvarado looks like he's on the right one in Juan Gonzalez Memorial

Jockey Frank Alvarado’s agent, Fernando Navarro, had several sleepless nights weighing his rider’s options for Saturday’s $50,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial at the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meeting at the Alameda County Fair. Alvarado had ridden both Song From Above and Kimberlea K to impressive debut wins, and both seemed headed to the Juan Gonzalez Memorial, a 5 1/2-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

But the choice became an easy one Wednesday when trainer Jerry Hollendorfer decided not to enter Kimberlea K, so Alvarado will be aboard Song From Above, the only winner in the race.

Song From Above beat the boys in the first Northern California 2-year-old race of 2017, winning by a length going 4 1/2 furlongs April 29 on the Golden Gate Fields Tapeta.

“It was the first race, so it’s hard to assess, but she’s a nice filly,” said Navarro.

Trainer Steve Specht agrees with that assessment.

“We had her plenty ready to run, and she ran as we expected her to,” he said.

Specht said he liked that Song From Above was able to settle in second early and then pull clear late.

“The main thing is she was able to sit off the pace,” he said. “She wasn’t real far back. It was a professional effort. She wasn’t green, ducking and dodging down the lane.”

Three others in Saturday’s field of nine have raced, and the rest are first-time starters. Oklahoma Red finished third to Song From Above in April and has finished sixth and fifth in her two starts since. Lucky Antares ran fourth, beaten a length, while facing the boys at Golden Gate on May 20. Miss Shirley C had traffic trouble in her only race, a third-place finish at Golden Gate on June 17. Kimberlea K won that race in perhaps the most impressive debut performance since eventual Eclipse Award winner She’s a Tiger won her first start in 2013.

The first-timer Vinaka, a $155,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. in April, has been working very quickly.

Juan Gonzalez Memorial (race 9)

Key Contenders

Song From Above, by Lucky Pulpit

Beyer: 58

◗ She will be running on dirt for the first time.

◗ She has had a pair of six-furlong drills since her victory, which should help her get the extra furlong.

◗ Specht does well with 2-year-olds, particularly in stakes.

Vinaka, by Sky Mesa

◗ She has been working at Santa Anita, so she is used to running on dirt.

◗ Trainer Jeff Bonde points his young stock to this meet.

Miss Shirley C, by Smiling Tiger

Beyer: 40

◗ She was beaten a neck for second in her debut.

◗ She comes back in only two weeks and has a work in the interim.

◗ Her sire was a superior sprinter.