Ginobili notches first two-turn stakes win in Fifth Season

Ginobili became a stakes winner around two turns Saturday with a dominant performance in the $150,000 Fifth Season at Oaklawn Park. He won by four lengths over Runnin Ray, while it was another neck back in third to last year’s winner, Rated R Superstar.

The Fifth Season was for 4-year-olds and up at a mile. The race ended at the sixteenth pole, as with all races at the distance at Oaklawn.

Ginobili is a Grade 2 winner over seven furlongs, accomplished in 2021 at Del Mar in the Pat O’Brien. One start later, he ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in a rare appearance around two turns for the son of Munnings.

In the Fifth Season, Ginobili ($5.80) was content to track the pace set by Dreamer’s Disease, who took the field through an opening quarter in 23.23 seconds and a half-mile in 46.53. Ginobili moved to the fore midway on the final turn, had a clear advantage into the stretch, and remained unchallenged to the wire under Ricardo Santana Jr. Ginobili covered the distance on a fast track in 1:37.35.

“He ran really one of his best races,” trainer Peter Miller said. “We were hopeful that he would do that, and he did not disappoint.”

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Miller said there were a couple of reasons Ginobili invaded from Southern California for the Fifth Season. The trainer, who has a string at Oaklawn, had saddled the horse to a runner-up finish in a Nov. 20 allowance sprint at Del Mar.

“This time of year there aren’t that many spots,” he said. “It’s kind of the quiet time of the year in sprint and one-turn mile races. This was kind of the right race at the right time.

“Now, we’ll get together with the partners and owners and decide what’s next. I don’t know how much further he wants to go, maybe a mile and a sixteenth. They’ve got the Razorback over at Oaklawn, but we’re also seriously looking at races in the Middle East, the Saudi Mile, and races in Dubai. He can sprint, too. He’s a pretty neat horse. He can go six and he can go a mile, up to a mile and a sixteenth. There’s a lot of options. We’re going to enjoy this and then make some decisions.”

It was a big Saturday for Miller. He had Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up C Z Rocket back on the work tab in Southern California. The horse went a quarter-mile in 25.20 seconds at his training center base of San Luis Rey Downs.

“He had his first breeze this morning,” Miller said. “He went a quarter and galloped out three-eighths. He’s going to get fit quickly. He’s probably four to five weeks away. He could also end up in the Middle East.”

As for Ginobili, he has now won 4 of 17 starts for earnings of $561,050. He races for Slam Dunk Racing, Jerry McClanahan, and Michael Nentwig.

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