A calmer All Run climbs class ladder for Midnight Lute
ARCADIA, Calif. – All Run, a 5-year-old gelding, has grown accustomed to frequent changes of scenery in the last two years.
All Run won a maiden race at Northlands Park in Alberta in the spring of 2014 and a $20,000 claimer at Golden Gate Fields last May before arriving in Southern California during the summer.
Owned by Durwood Ashcroft, All Run joined trainer Richard Baltas’s stable in late summer and is unbeaten in his last three starts. The streak has led to All Run’s graded stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 3 Midnight Lute Stakes at Santa Anita.
The key to getting All Run to a stakes race has been working with the gelding’s mind, according to David Meah, Baltas’s assistant. Providing All Run with an outdoor stall at Del Mar or one with a window at Santa Anita has helped to calm apprehensive tendencies.
“He was a bit nervous, and he was a finicky eater,” Meah said. “We trained him the same way, and we try to keep him happy in his stall. That’s been important. He’s a better eater.”
All Run’s streak includes a starter allowance at Del Mar in August, an optional claimer here in September, and an optional claimer at Del Mar in November. He is part of a field of seven in the $100,000 Midnight Lute at 6 1/2 furlongs.
“I think he deserves a chance,” Meah said.
Midnight Lute, Race 6
KEY CONTENDERS
All Run (Last 3 Beyers: 96-96-80)
◗ All Run typically races from just off the pace but can be effective when close. In September, he won an optional claimer here at 6 1/2 furlongs by 7 3/4 lengths. With a quick runner in Distinctiv Passion expected to set the pace, All Run is likely to race from a stalking position.
Salutos Amigos (Last 3 Beyers: 97-98-103)
◗ The only millionaire in the field, Salutos Amigos had wide trips when fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31 and the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct on Nov. 26.
◗ A 6-year-old gelding, Salutos Amigos has won six stakes in his 34-race career. Trained by David Jacobson, Salutos Amigos was beaten a neck in the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont Park on Sept. 26. He is a threat from off the pace.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Salutos Amigos. Trainer David Jacobson is 19-1-1-2 with a $0.89 ROI over the past five years in graded stakes outside of New York state. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Distinctiv Passion (Last 3 Beyers: 66-98-93)
◗ Distinctiv Passion consistently runs an opening quarter-mile in less than 22 seconds. He won the Midnight Lute Stakes in December 2014 and might prove tough to catch in this field.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Seattle Serenade. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 11-5-1-1 with a $5.40 ROI over the past five years in dirt sprint graded stakes at Santa Anita with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan