Colosi gets to do his thing in allowance sprint down the hill

ARCADIA, Calif. – The reason Colosi improved this year was a surface switch from dirt to turf. Simple, obvious explanation.

His first two starts on dirt were dreadful. Colosi then switched to turf and was reborn. The son of City Zip steamrolled maidens, followed by a strong third in a stakes race.

The reason for his improvement had to be footing. Case closed.

Except trainer Mark Glatt knows it is not that simple.

“I don’t know if his form reversal is maturity, or grass, or a combination of both,” Glatt said. “My inclination is he would be fine on the dirt now. But I’m not going to change what’s working.”

What works for Colosi is the about 6 1/2-furlong downhill course at Santa Anita, where he won a maiden race by more than four lengths and finished third in the Baffle Stakes. The downhill is where he is favored Friday in a first-level allowance for 3-year-olds.

Seven were entered in the only Friday allowance. It is race 3 on a card with three interesting maiden special weights: Chalky stretches to a mile on turf as the one to beat in race 1; fast-working first-time starter Most Amusing looks ready to fire in race 2, a dirt sprint; Pacific Strike is favored in race 8, at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

As for stakes-placed Colosi, his main rivals include Cono and Move Over, each with a runner-up finish in an allowance turf sprint. Axelrod shortens to a sprint for the first time. Minoso, Restrainedvengence, and potential pacesetter Vutzak also were entered.

Colosi was named for Kevin Colosi, the well-liked Southern California racing official and longtime friend of Glatt. Does the racing official share anything in common with the horse?

“They’re both mentally challenged,” Glatt cracked.

Glatt was joking about Colosi, the Santa Anita clerk of scales. Glatt was serious about Colosi the horse.

“He’s quite a nervous horse,” Glatt said. “He’s really good about things until he gets in the post parade. He’s a work in progress.”

Colosi lost his composure shipping from Santa Anita to Los Alamitos for his debut last July, finished sixth, and came out of the race with a tender shin. He was gelded, had to ship again for his next start at Del Mar, and finished ninth.

For his first start of 2018, he ran out of his own stall at Santa Anita.

“We didn’t have to ship him to run him, but he also got on the grass, which the City Zips do quite well on,” Glatt said.

Both turf sprints by Colosi were 84-Beyer performances under jockey Joe Talamo, who rides again on Friday. Glatt will stretch him out when the time is right.

“I think he’s going to go long, but I don’t want to throw too much at him,” Glatt said.