Four-bagger for Van Dyke as City of Light takes Triple Bend
ARCADIA, Calif. – City of Light gave Drayden Van Dyke the most meaningful and emotional four-bagger of his young career Saturday at Santa Anita, and the jockey let it show at the finish of the Grade 1 Triple Bend Stakes.
The normally reserved Van Dyke pumped his fist excitedly when City of Light finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Bobby Abu Dhabi in the seven-furlong stakes, Van Dyke’s fourth winner from the first four races on the Big Cap card.
“When I crossed the wire, that was the one of the best feelings I’ve had since I started,” Van Dyke said. “I kind of let one out a little bit. To win on that horse is very meaningful, not just for me, but for Dr. McNamara.”
Robert McNamara, who died unexpectedly on Feb. 23, was Van Dyke’s dentist and the father-in-law of Michael McCarthy, City of Light’s trainer. McCarthy is married to McNamara’s daughter, Erin.
“He loved this horse,” McCarthy said about McNamara. “It was his first favorite horse. We used to talk about him all the time.”
City of Light’s second Grade 1 victory of the Santa Anita winter meet – he won the Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 – established the colt as one of the top sprinters in California after his 1:21.35 victory in the seven-furlong stake. City of Light earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure.
It was not easy. City of Light is typically more agreeable to rating tactics, but with two and a half months between starts and a cancelled trip to Oaklawn Park, McCarthy had to train the horse rather than race him.
“My horse was a bit keener the first three-sixteenths of a mile than I expected,” McCarthy said. “Usually when they pull, they pull, and when they pull ... they go flat.”
City of Light did not go flat. He chased front-runner Bobby Abu Dhabi and wore him down in the final sixteenths to win his third race from six starts. McCarthy eventually will stretch out the son of Quality Road. For now, he will savor the win.
Edwards Going Left finished third, 4 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up. Captain Scotty and Horse Greedy completed the order of finish.
Van Dyke, 23, has emerged as one of the top riders in Southern California. He scored four-baggers in 2014 at Turf Paradise and Los Alamitos. “Those tracks I did it on, I wouldn’t say anything bad about those tracks, but [Santa Anita] is considered one of the best tracks in the world.”
