Let's Rejoyce using allowance as stepping-stone to stakes

The well-regarded colt Let’s Rejoyce will have his first start in Southern California on Sunday at Los Alamitos, and if he runs well could make his stakes debut at Del Mar next month.

Let’s Rejoyce was second at 2-5 at Golden Gate Fields in his debut May 24 and rebounded to win a maiden special weight race at six furlongs there June 7.

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He is owned by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds and trained by Jonathan Wong.

Wong said Let’s Rejoyce performed better in his second start with experience and without blinkers.

“We ran him with blinkers first time out, and he was playing around and not paying attention,” Wong said. “We pulled the blinkers, and he ran very good.”

Let’s Rejoyce, who will be ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez, has drawn the outside post in a field of nine in an allowance race with a $20,000 claiming option for California-breds at 5 1/2 furlongs. Wong said he might run him in the $125,000 Real Good Deal Stakes for 3-year-old statebreds at seven furlongs July 31 at Del Mar.

Let’s Rejoyce set the pace in his first two starts and could get a stalking trip Sunday behind Tizhotndusty, Without Malice, and Project Leader.

“There is a lot of speed in there,” Wong said. “He doesn’t need the lead.”

The optional claimer will be the 3-year-old debut of Square Deal, winner of the I’m Smokin Stakes at six furlongs for statebreds last August at Del Mar. Trained by Simon Callaghan, Square Deal was sixth of 11 in the Golden State Juvenile at seven furlongs last November on the undercard of a Breeders’ Cup program at Santa Anita.

Square Deal has not started since that race.

“I don’t think he wants to go seven-eighths,” Callaghan said. “It was a deep track that Breeders’ Cup weekend. We gave him a freshening.”

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Square Deal has worked quickly at Los Alamitos in recent weeks, including five furlongs in 59 seconds on June 21, the fastest of 23 works at the distance.

“I think he’s pretty much where he needs to be in terms of fitness,” Callaghan said. “His last few works have been good. I think 5 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos is a perfect place to come back.”

Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at Golden Gate Fields earlier this year, will ride Square Deal for the first time. Hernandez recently relocated to Southern California.

The allowance race is the seventh of nine races Sunday at Los Alamitos on a program that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

In the eighth race, Tiz Wonderfully tries to win her fourth consecutive start in an optional claimer for fillies and mares at a mile.

Trained by Jim Cassidy, Tiz Wonderfully began the streak with a win in $16,000 claimer for nonwinners of three on Feb. 17 at Santa Anita and followed with victories there in a $12,500 claimer on March 22 and an optional claimer against California-breds at a mile by 7 1/4 lengths on May 23.