Golden State Juvenile shares spotlight with talented maiden

ARCADIA, Calif. – Horseplayers paying attention to the 2-year-olds running Saturday at Santa Anita might conclude a maiden race has more significance than a $200,000 stakes race on the same card.

Sound silly? Stretford End, deservedly touted before and after his highly rated runner-up debut, returns as perhaps the most heavily favored runner on the card.

The future is bright for Stretford End. He is expected to win race 7.

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Cruel Intention and Galilean have been there, done that. Both were heavily favored first out and ran to the billing by scoring sharp front-running victories. Saturday at Santa Anita, they return as leading choices again in the $200,000 Golden State Juvenile.

Eight colts and geldings, California-bred or -sired, race seven furlongs in the Golden State Juvenile, race 10. In addition to debut stakes winner Galilean, the field includes stakes winners Luck’s Royal Flush and Listing, along with stakes-placed Oliver, Our Silver Oak, and Whooping Jay. I Belong to Becky and impressive maiden winner Cruel Intention complete the field.

Even though Cruel Intention and Galilean both finished first, neither ran as fast as Stretford End. He earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure finishing second by a neck to Improbable, the program favorite in the Street Sense Stakes, race 4, Friday at Churchill Downs.

Stretford End, sired by Will Take Charge, is trained by Simon Callaghan and owned by Kaleem Shah. The colt was purchased for $600,000 at the same 2-year-old sale at which Shah purchased Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies favorite Bellafina for $800,000.

Stretford End faces 11 rivals in the six-furlong maiden sprint. He might be a good one. As for the Golden State Juvenile favorites, they also are very good.

Galilean, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, was purchased for $600,000 at the Barretts 2-year-old sale in April and made his debut in the restricted Barretts Juvenile at Los Alamitos. Galilean started as the 9-10 favorite, pressed a fast pace, opened up, and held by a neck with an 82 Beyer. He adds blinkers Saturday.

Cruel Intention was purchased at the same Barretts sale for $200,000 and also ran big first out. Favored at 1-5 in a California-bred maiden race, Cruel Intention raced gate to wire over a speed-friendly Santa Anita surface labelled good to win by more than five with an 81 Beyer. Bob Baffert trains Cruel Intention.