Katonah makes Pleasanton Mile first stakes victory
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Katonah, the winner of a $40,000 claimer for maidens at Santa Anita in January, won his stakes debut with a steady rally in Sunday’s $152,250 Pleasanton Mile at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif.
The win left trainer Doug O’Neill contemplating at start for the 4-year-old in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 2.
“You’ve got to think big,” O’Neill said.
The Pleasanton Mile, run for the first time on Sunday, was Katonah’s first start outside of Southern California and the richest race in the history of the Northern California fair circuit.
Running in any kind of stakes seemed unlikely for Katonah at the beginning of the year. The gelding won the maiden claimer in his first start in more than 13 months after being claimed by R3 Racing for $50,000 at Del Mar in November 2021.
In the Pleasanton Mile, Katonah was seventh and then fifth on the backstretch, racing on the rail behind Midnight Mammoth under jockey Tiago Pereira. A 15-1 outsider, Midnight Mammoth set early fractions of 23.10 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.61 for a half-mile.
Pereira moved Katonah off the rail approaching the turn and rallied three-wide to reach contention before the quarter-pole.
Katonah repelled a threat in early stretch from 9-2 I’mgonnebesomebody to win by 3 1/4 lengths. The subject of a massive late win bet, Katonah ($4.60) finished a mile and 70 yards in 1:40.80 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 98.
“Can you ask more of an owner to be that patient and that supportive and take care of the horse?” O’Neill said. “The thinking was, when he’s right, let’s see what we’ve got.
“When he came back and started training, he couldn’t have been training better. Today was unbelievable with the way he ran.
“Tiago has worked him a bunch. He showed a lot of confidence in the horse.”
I’mgonnabesomebody, the winner of three stakes in Northern California in the last year, held second, finishing 2 1/4 lengths in front of 12-1 Il Bellator.
Tripoli and CZ Rocket finished in a dead heat for fourth, followed by American Farmer, Tesoro, Midnight Mammoth, Kennebec and Breakfast Ride.
Katonah, by Klimt, has won 4 of 11 starts and earned $210,180.
NEVIN RECAP
Dreamfyre recorded a surprise win in her debut in Sunday’s $75,900 Everett Nevin Stakes for 2-year-olds, leading throughout after a sharp start.
Ridden by Francisco Duran, Dreamfyre led narrowly over 5-1 Wild Jewels through an opening quarter-mile of 21.77 seconds, and remained clear on the turn after a half-mile in 44.27 seconds.
Dreamfyre ($25.80) was not challenged through the stretch, winning by 3 1/2 lengths. She ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.51 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 70.
“The plan was to break sharp and see where I was at and see if I was in front,” Duran said in a post-race television interview.
Duran said that in early stretch “I knew we had it.”
Wild Jewels finished second, 2 1/4 lengths in front 21-1 Lusma.
Tiger in My Tank was fourth, followed by Shady Appeal and Last Call London.
Shady Appeal, the 6-5 favorite, broke a stride slow on the inside and was not a factor.
Dreamfyre, who races for Danny Eplin and trainer O.J. Jauregui, is by the Scat Daddy stallion Flameaway. Dreamfyre was purchased for $140,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s April auction of 2-year-olds in-training.
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