Long Los Al Derby stretch run will test Tapalo

The lengthy stretch at Los Alamitos, more than a quarter-mile long, will pose a stamina test for Tapalo in Saturday’s $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby at 1 1/8 miles.

A two-time sprint winner, Tapalo is winless in three starts around two turns since last fall.

At shorter distances, he has been outstanding. Tapalo was a seven-length winner of the Lazaro Barrera Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs on May 12 at Santa Anita, leading throughout to record his first stakes win.

The manner of the win, a seven-week gap between starts, and a series of encouraging workouts in recent weeks has led trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing to try Tapalo in the Los Alamitos Derby.

“I’m hoping the track will carry him,” Sadler said. “It may be a little farther than he wants to go.”

Tapalo drew the inside post in a field of five that includes one other stakes winner in Wynstock, one of two runners trained by Bob Baffert. Wynstock won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles last December, but has not been a factor in three stakes this year at Oaklawn Park and Santa Anita.

Baffert, who has won the last seven runnings of the Los Alamitos Derby, also starts the highly regarded Cornell, who was a well-beaten third behind stablemate Parenting in the Affirmed Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on June 9 at Santa Anita in his stakes debut.

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In January, Cornell was the smart winner of a maiden race at a mile, a victory that suggested the colt would be a factor in the major stakes for 3-year-olds in late winter and spring. He missed all of those races.

Curlin’s Kaos, seventh by 1 1/2 lengths as the 2-1 favorite in the Snow Chief Stakes for statebreds at 1 1/8 miles on turf May 25 at Santa Anita, and Kamaina Cruiser, a maiden race winner on June 1 at Golden Gate Fields, are the other runners.

Tapalo has started at 1 1/8 miles once, finishing fifth of eight after setting the pace in the Santa Anita Derby on April 6. He was a more encouraging second in the El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic main track at Golden Gate Fields in February.

Since the Barrera, Tapalo has worked quickly. He went six furlongs in 1:12.80 on June 16 at Santa Anita, and five furlongs in 1:00.20 on June 23. Hector Berrios, who has the mount Saturday, has been aboard Tapalo on occasion in recent workouts.

“Berrios has breezed him twice, and he was very pleased,” Sadler said. “We wanted to give him some spacing from his last race. We don’t want the bounce factor.”

Instead, Tapalo must show he can run 1 1/8 miles. The result on Saturday will determine whether the colt will be raced in stakes around one turn this summer or at longer distances.

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