Brickyard Ride blitzes to front-running California Cup Sprint win

ARCADIA, Calif. – Brickyard Ride scorched his way through an opening half-mile and sustained the momentum through the stretch to win his stakes debut in Saturday’s $153,000 California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.

The Sprint was the first career stakes win for apprentice jockey Alexis Centeno, who had his first stakes mount earlier in the day. A native of Puerto Rico, Centeno, 27, began riding in California last summer.

In the California Cup Sprint, Centeno guided Brickyard Ride through an early pace of 21.63 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.35 for a half-mile, leading by as many as 2 1/2 lengths.

Brickyard Ride ran six furlongs in 1:09.42, and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 99.

“He was ready to run his race,” Centeno said. “I was very comfortable.”

Brickyard Ride ($11.80) led by 2 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining and won by 3 1/4 lengths over 2-1 favorite Tigre di Slugo, who closed from eighth in the final quarter-mile.

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Fashionably Fast, who won the 2020 California Cup Sprint, closed from sixth to finish third, a nose behind Tigre di Slugo. The California Cup Sprint was Fashionably Fast’s first start since a sixth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar last August.

Loud Mouth, winner of the Cary Grant Stakes for California-breds on Nov. 22 at Del Mar, finished fourth, followed by Jamming Eddy, Club Aspen, Rookie Mistake, Oliver, Royal Trump, Psycho Dar, and Bettor Trip Nick.

Brickyard Ride races for owner-breeder Sonny Pais and trainer Craig Lewis. The winner of a $50,000 claiming race for statebred maidens here in October 2019, Brickyard Ride has won 6 of 12 starts and earned $260,277.

The California Cup Sprint was Brickyard Ride’s third win in his last four starts. Brickyard Ride won consecutive allowance races at the autumn meeting here in sprints on dirt and turf, and was last of seven after a poor start in an allowance race at five furlongs on Dec. 12 at Los Alamitos.

Centeno, who holds his apprentice claim through July, was aboard for those three races.