Golden Gate Fields notes: She's a Tiger brings owner to pinnacle of sport

Allen Aldrich thought he’d hit the horse racing heights when he saddled Steel Blue to win the Humboldt County Marathon in 2011. On Saturday, Aldrich will truly hit the big time as part-owner of She’s a Tiger, a contender in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

Aldrich, who maintains his trainer’s license, owns 25 percent of She’s a Tiger thanks to the insistence of old friend Jeff Bonde, who trains the filly.

The two went to high school together in Pleasanton, Calif., and their grandmothers were best friends.

“I claimed one of his grandmother’s horses once, and she yelled at me,” Aldrich said.

Bonde bought She’s a Tiger for $150,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale last year, and she has gone on to win two stakes, including the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, and earn $365,650. Bonde liked her in part because she’s a three-quarter sister to Smiling Tiger, whom Bonde trained to win four Grade 1 races and $1,480,704. Smiling Tiger twice finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Aldrich said Bonde was insistent that he buy into She’s a Tiger.

“Jeff called and said he wanted me to buy a piece of a filly,” said Aldrich. “He didn’t tell me how far down the list [of callers] I was. He said he wanted me to take a quarter, and I tried to talk him into an eighth, but he said no.”

So Aldrich, whose dream was to win the Humboldt County Marathon, owns 25 percent of the richest 2-year-old filly who will run in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. His partners in the filly are Mark DeDomenico, Lisa Hernandez, and Stuart Downey.

She’s a Tiger won her debut by nine lengths at Pleasanton, breaking so alertly under Frank Alvarado that his jockey agent at the time, Dennis Patterson, quipped, “I expected to hear them shoot a starter’s pistol for a false start.”

She’s a Tiger followed up with a victory in the $150,000 Landaluce at Hollywood Park, then was second after leading in the stretch in the Grade 2 Sorrento at Del Mar. She went on to win the Del Mar Debutante and finish second after leading in the lane in the Grade 1 Chandelier at Santa Anita.

Since then she’s posted two bullet workouts at Santa Anita: a best-of-50 five-furlong drill in 57.80 seconds and a best-of-20 six-furlong move in 1:10.60. She wound up her Breeders’ Cup preparations with an easy 47.80 half-mile work Sunday.

Look Quickly eyes Debutante

Look Quickly may not quite be in She’s a Tiger’s class, but she’s unbeaten in three starts and the best 2-year-old filly in Northern California.

She hadn’t run since winning the Juan Gonzalez Memorial at Pleasanton on July 6 – earning a 68 Beyer to match the number She’s a Tiger got in her debut – when she was entered against males last Thursday. The Craig Dollase-trained Karma King was sent north for his second start after earning an 82 Beyer in his debut and went off the 2-5 favorite.

Under Juan Hernandez, Look Quickly beat him by five lengths in 1:10.21 for six furlongs and earned an 80 Beyer.

“I don’t think in 40 years I’ve ever run a filly against colts, but I took a shot,” said breeder-owner-trainer Bill Morey Jr.

Morey only ran her last week because he needed to get a race for the filly in advance of the Nov. 30 Golden Gate Debutante.

Morey joked that he was nervous down the stretch even though Look Quickly was well clear.

“I was a little concerned because the jockey had been disqualified in both ends of the daily double,” said Morey. “He was looking over his shoulder so much to make sure he had room, I was afraid he’d fall off.”

Morey views Look Quickly as a sprinter. She is by Run Away and Hide, a young sire by City Zip who was 3 for 3 in his career, including a pair of graded stakes wins. Morey trained Look Quickly’s dam, Fame’s Flame, who was “one of the fastest horses I ever had going one-half mile.”

◗ First post for live racing will start earlier during Breeders’ Cup weekend. Friday’s first post is 12:05 p.m. and Saturday’s is 11:40 a.m. All fans in attendance will receive a free betting voucher.