Majestic Harbor looks to prove himself in Gold Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. – Distance races are not an issue for Majestic Harbor, the winner of the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup over 1 1/2 miles on dirt in March.
When he starts in Saturday’s $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Majestic Harbor will be suited to the race distance of 1 1/4 miles. Proving himself against the best older horses on the circuit will be the real test.

“I like the mile and a quarter,” trainer Sean McCarthy said Sunday. “I think it will help his chances. I’m looking forward to it. It’s the race you want to run in.”

Owned by Ron Beegle’s Gallant Stable, Majestic Harbor has won 5 of 22 starts and earned $355,764. Following the Tokyo City, Majestic Harbor was third behind Gold Cup hopefuls Clubhouse Ride and Fury Kapcori in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes over 1 1/8 miles here May 31. Majestic Harbor closed from fifth to finish 2 3/4 lengths behind Clubhouse Ride, racing closest to the front at the finish.

On Sunday, Majestic Harbor worked five furlongs in 58.80 seconds at Santa Anita, the fastest of 67 recorded works at the distance. McCarthy timed Majestic Harbor galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.40.

“He always gallops out strong,” McCarthy said.

Tyler Baze will have the mount on Majestic Harbor, who is part of a projected field of six in the Grade 1 Gold Cup. The race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth to the winner for the Breeders’ Cup Classic here over the same course and distance Nov. 1.

Game On Dude, who won the Santa Anita Handicap for the third time in his career in March, will be favored. Aside from Clubhouse Ride, Fury Kapcori, and Majestic Harbor, the other candidates are Imperative and Salto Del Indio.

The Gold Cup at Santa Anita previously was run at Hollywood Park as the Hollywood Gold Cup. Game On Dude was second in the 2011 Hollywood Gold Cup and won the race in 2012 and last year.

On Sunday, Salto Del Indio worked five furlongs in 1:00.40. A 4-year-old by the Seeking the Gold stallion Happy Hunting, Salto Del Indio won 4 of 19 starts in Chile. He was third Feb. 2 in the El Derby in Chile and joined trainer Mike Puype’s stable in the spring.

Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Salto Del Indio will be tested throughout the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Puype said.

“He’s as ready as he can be,” Puype said. “Those horses go from the beginning to the end.”

The race may have an additional entrant in Lideris, another South American stakes winner. Trainer Peter Miller said Sunday that Lideris also will be entered for the $200,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap over about 1 3/4 miles on turf June 29, a race that has appeal because of its distance and surface.

“The [main] track is so speed favoring at Santa Anita,” Miller said. “It’s hard to make up any ground. It may sound strange to say, but the mile and a quarter might be too short for this horse.”