Irish Presence goes for first stakes win in Cypress
CYPRESS, Calif. – The last time trainer Danny Velasquez ventured to Los Alamitos, he attempted a shortcut on the road from Del Mar.
“I tried to go the back way and got lost,” he recalled Friday morning. “I didn’t get to see my horse run.”
Velasquez will not make the same mistake Sunday, when he starts Irish Presence in the $75,000 Cypress Stakes for fillies and mares. Irish Presence was third in two stakes at Santa Anita in the spring – finishing behind the two-time champion Beholder in the Santa Lucia Stakes in April and behind Let Faith Arise at 108-1 in the Grade 3 Adoration Stakes on May 18.
Irish Presence can win her first stakes in the Cypress, run over 1 1/16 miles.
“I think she’ll run well, and I think she’ll like that dirt,” Velasquez said. “She can come from off the pace, and there are a few in there with speed.”
Irish Presence will be ridden by Elvis Trujillo, who had two wins Thursday, the opening day of the two-week summer Thoroughbred meeting. Irish Presence will break from the rail in a field of five that includes Legacy, Maker or Breaker, Miss Radiance, and Onna Bugeisha.
Only Onna Bugeisha, trained by Carla Gaines, won her last start, an optional claimer over a mile May 24. The Cypress will be the stakes debut of Onna Bugeisha, who will race near the front.
A 4-year-old filly, Onna Bugeisha beat maidens in her seventh career start Feb. 27, her first for Gaines. She finished second in an allowance race and an optional claimer before winning as a heavy favorite May 24.
With her tactical speed and recent record, Onna Bugeisha will be a short price in the Cypress.
Maker or Breaker, trained by Bob Baffert, has shown speed. The 5-year-old mare Maker or Breaker won her 2014 debut in a six-furlong allowance race May 11.
The form of that race was flattered when the runner-up, Velvet Mesquite, returned to win an optional claimer June 20.
Last year, Maker or Breaker was winless in four stakes in Southern California. Typical of a Baffert-trained runner, Maker or Breaker has recorded quick works in recent weeks.
Legacy set the pace in the Adoration Stakes in April and was second to Beholder. She was a disappointment in the Adoration as a 21-1 outsider, racing in fourth to early stretch before fading to finish sixth.
Irish Presence closed from last in a field of nine to finish nine lengths behind Let Faith Arise in the Adoration. Velasquez would prefer that Trujillo keeps Irish Presence in touch with the small field Sunday.
“If we can get her a little closer to the pace, that should help,” he said.