Grazen Sky handles turf, two turns in Silky Sullivan

Grazen Sky, favored although he was making both his route and turf debut, won the $100,105 Silly Sullivan Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday.

The 3-year-old Grazen Sky, a Nicholas Alexander homebred, sat just off the honest pace set by Cardiac in the one-mile turf race for California-breds. He moved two wide to challenge Cardiac on the second turn, pulling even as the field turned for home.

Grazen Sky ($4.40), ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez, continued strongly to the wire, holding off the challenge of second-choice Pulmarack, who moved up nicely while running in the three path. He won by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:38 flat.

Cardiac wound up third, another three-quarters of a length back, as he held off Suances Dream by a neck.

“At first, I didn’t think he was handling the turf that good,” said Gonzalez. “On the backside, he felt a little more comfortable and actually started running. He got real comfortable turning for home, and at the sixteenth pole, he really took off. That’s when I felt a nice kick.”

Trained by Steve Miyada, Grazen Sky was coming off a second in his stakes debut in the Echo Eddie at Santa Anita on April 4. He now has a record of 3 wins and 3 seconds in 6 career starts.

The first foal for his dam, Sky Marni, Grazen Sky, by Grazen, earned $57,000 to increase his lifetime earnings to $186,800.