Moonshine Bay capitalizes on contested pace in Albany
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was unhappy when Moonshine Bay didn’t make the lead early in his last start. The 6-year-old Moonshine Bay didn’t make the lead again Saturday in the $53,815 Albany at Golden Gate Fields, but sitting back early worked perfectly as he won a four-way battle through the lane to capture the five-furlong turf race.
Moonshine Bay ($9.60) was fifth down the backstretch as Teton Country, Ain’t No Other, and favored A Toast to You went a 22-flat opening quarter. He inched up on the turn as Incline Village joined the pace battle while Teton Country backed out of the picture.
Moonshine Bay rallied along the outside and wore down the leaders, beating Incline Village by one-half length in 57.21 seconds. A Toast to You lost the photo for second by a head with Ain’t No Other another 1 3/4 lengths back.
“My horse has good speed but I’ve also seen him win some races coming from off of it, so I knew he didn’t have to have the lead,” said leading rider Russell Baze.
“I was pretty sure that if I could stay within good striking distance around the turn that I would be able to close some ground and push by them in the stretch. This horse really ran a game race for me. He’s been a good horse for a lot of years.”
The victory was Moonshine Bay’s 16th in 42 starts but was his first stakes win. He also has two seconds and three thirds in eight stakes starts.
The victory was worth $30,500, increasing his bankroll to $364,517 for the ownership group of Hollendorfer, Marvin Kirsner, Al Morrison, and George Todaro.