Chips All In pulls clear in stretch, wins Albany

Favorite Chips All In ($3.80) got a perfect stalking trip and pulled clear in the stretch to easily win the $54,150 Albany Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.

Chips All In, a 7-year-old North Light horse, scored his third victory in five starts at the five-furlong distance on the turf, where he also has had a second and third. In addition, he has won a pair of Grade 3 turf sprints down the 6 1/2-furlong Hillside Turf Course at Santa Anita.

The John Brocklebank-trained runner won a prep race for the meeting’s final stakes over the course on April 16, but ran fourth in a May 6 race that was switched from the turf to the main track.

He broke alertly and was content to sit behind My Friend Emma, who cut out fractions of 21.95 and 44.76 seconds, and All Indians, who had beaten him on May 6.

Under jockey Russell Baze, he saved ground on the inside and passed a tiring All Indians at the top of the stretch. He quickly caught My Friend Emma and pulled clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths in 56.64 seconds over the 2014 winner Moonshine Bay, the second-longest shot on the board at 32-1.

Somethings Unusual rallied late for third, a half-length behind Moonshine Bay, while edging My Friend Emma by a head.

“It went pretty much the way we thought,” said Baze. “There were a couple horses on the outside that looked liked they’d show speed. We just tucked in, saving all the ground. I was liking my chances all the way down the backside because [My Friend Emma] wasn’t wanting to get close to the rail.”

Chips All In’s 10th career victory in 34 starts was worth $30,550 for owners Jean Everest, John O’Brien, Danny Valdez, Michelle Turpin, et al. He has now earned $565,194.