Chicago Style gets more ground in San Marcos Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Chicago Style ran out of ground at the finish of the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 5. Seventh with a furlong remaining, Chicago Style finished 1 1/4 lengths behind the multiple stakes winner Next Shares.

“I didn’t get beat by much the other day,” jockey Drayden Van Dyke said.

Distance should not be an issue for Chicago Style in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles.

“I’m looking forward to the extra distance,” Van Dyke said. “I think the distance is key for him.”

Chicago Style will be favored in the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes, the ninth race on an 11-race program that begins at 11:30 a.m. Pacific. A 6-year-old gelding owned by Glen Hill Farm and trained by Tom Proctor, Chicago Style is part of a field of 13, the largest field of the day.

The San Marcos will be the American debut of the two-time French winner Sejo, the turf debut of the multiple stakes winner Dabster, and a return to turf for Beach View, who was third in the Hollywood Turf Cup.

KEY CONTENDERS

Chicago Style, by Kitten’s Joy
Last 3 Beyers: 97-96-94

◗ Chicago Style, who won the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar in November for his first stakes win, will race from off the pace. In the 1 1/2-mile Hollywood Turf Cup, Chicago Style closed from last in a field of seven to win by a neck over Bigger Picture, who won the Grade 3 John B. Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston on Jan. 27.

◗ Van Dyke said Chicago Style is a cooperative horse to ride and shows enthusiasm in the stretch.

“He puts himself wherever he is comfortable,” he said. “He’s very easy to ride. It’s tough to get him stopped.”

Sejo, by Nathaniel
Last 3 Beyers: NA-NA-NA

◗ Sejo won two minor handicaps at 1 5/16 miles and 1 3/16 miles at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris last May and June, beating large fields. The San Marcos will be the graded stakes debut for Sejo, who is now owned by Pete and Kosta Hronis and trainer John Sadler.

“He has a lot of stamina,” Sadler said of Sejo.

Platinum Warrior, by Galileo
Last 3 Beyers: 95-85-87

◗ Platinum Warrior was fifth in the San Gabriel, beaten 2 1/2 lengths by Next Shares. This will be the first start at 1 1/4 miles for Platinum Warrior since a fourth in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park last August in his American debut.

“He really wants to go on,” Sadler said.

Dabster, by Curlin
Last 3 Beyers: 99-99-99

◗ Dabster is a distance specialist. He won the Los Alamitos Special at 1 1/4 miles last September and was second in the Grade 2 Marathon Stakes at 1 3/4 miles at Churchill Downs in November. Dabster starts in the San Marcos because of the distance.

“It’s the mile and a quarter,” trainer Bob Baffert said.