Midcourt, Restrainedvengence aiming at San Pasqual

ARCADIA, Calif. – The stakes winners Midcourt and Restrainedvengence are scheduled to start in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita.

Midcourt was invited to the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park, but trainer John Shirreffs said he would prefer to start him in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes.

Owned by Lee and Susan Searing, Midcourt won the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on Nov. 23 at Del Mar and was third in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes here Dec. 28, ending a four-race winning streak.

Restrainedvengence won the Zia Championship Handicap in New Mexico on Nov. 27 and had a brief vacation in December, trainer Val Brinkerhoff said. A 5-year-old gelding, Restrainedvengence races for Kelly Brinkerhoff and Bob Grayson Jr.

The San Pasqual Stakes is a key prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6. Mucho Gusto, a four-time stakes winner and trained by Bob Baffert, is another candidate for the San Pasqual.

◗ Friday’s seven-race program, the first of four days of racing through Monday, drew light entries, including two-five horse fields and two six-horse fields. First post time is 1 p.m. Pacific.

Through Sunday, the ninth day of the meeting, fields have averaged 7.85 runners per race since the meeting began Dec. 28. Racing programs on Dec. 26-27 were canceled because of wet conditions. Through the second weekend of January last year, the track had run 13 programs and averaged 8.02 runners per race.

◗ John Shear, a paddock captain who has worked at Santa Anita since 1961, will celebrate his 99th birthday on Friday with a ceremony in the winner’s circle after the third race. Shear, a native of England who was once a jockey in that country, is a daily fixture at Santa Anita where he works to ensure the safety of horses as they enter the paddock. Shear, who has lived in the United States since 1954, made national news in 2011 when he sustained injuries by distracting a loose horse who was quickly approaching a crowd that included a small child.

Shear was sidelined for a year after the incident before he returned to work.