Gunmetal Gray may have experience edge in American Pharoah

ARCADIA, Calif. – Not until the fall do 2-year-olds usually get a chance to stretch out around two turns on dirt on the Southern California circuit, but there’s often a rare spot afforded maidens toward the end of the Del Mar meeting, and for Gunmetal Gray, it proved pivotal.

Gunmetal Gray disappointed sprinting on July 29 in his first start. But when he was sent one mile on Aug. 22 he clobbered his competition. That experience gives him a terrific chance to knock off the 1-2 finishers from the Del Mar Futurity when he makes his stakes debut Saturday at Santa Anita in the Grade 1, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes.

The American Pharoah was renamed this year to honor the 2015 Triple Crown winner who won this race in 2014, when it was known as the FrontRunner. The American Pharoah offers a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs through the Win and You’re In program. Like the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the American Pharoah is a two-turn race at 1 1/16 miles.

Game Winner and Rowayton were the top two finishers in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity. Yet while they were clearly more advanced than Gunmetal Gray during the summer, they have yet to go two turns, and in terms of Beyer Speed Figures, there’s not much separating the top three.

Gunmetal Gray chased the highly regarded Roadster in his debut, finishing a non-threatening fifth going six furlongs. He won by 6 3/4 lengths when stretched out to a mile in his second start, and earned a Beyer Figure of 89 – just four points shy of what Game Winner received in the Del Mar Futurity.

“He didn’t run as well as we thought he would first time, but when he got to go two turns he went really well,” said Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Gunmetal Gray and owns him with West Point Thoroughbreds. “Everybody in the barn thought he’d be better going two turns.”

Hollendorfer also sends out Rowayton, who set a sharp pace before finishing second in the Del Mar Futurity, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Game Winner.

Drayden Van Dyke rode both of Hollendorfer’s horses in their cumulative four starts, but for the American Pharoah he was replaced on Rowayton by owner Larry Best – who opted for Florent Geroux – and Flavien Prat got the call on Gunmetal Gray when Van Dyke committed to another horse who ended up not running.

Game Winner won the Del Mar Futurity only 16 days after a winning debut and still produced a Beyer Figure of 93 on that quick turnaround.

Game Winner is by Candy Ride out of an A.P. Indy mare.

“He should be better with distance,” trainer Bob Baffert said.

Joel Rosario, who rode Game Winner in his debut but could not be in town for the Del Mar Futurity, climbs back aboard.

There are only two others in the race.

Sigalert was fourth, beaten 10 1/2 lengths, in the Del Mar Futurity.

Jefe, still a maiden, was a distant second to Gunmetal Gray in that Aug. 22 maiden race at Del Mar.