Moreno, Catch a Flight more prominent for rematch in Californian
ARCADIA, Calif. – The last time Moreno and Catch a Flight met, they finished a well-beaten second and third behind Shared Belief in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.
Since then, they have gained more prominent roles in the nation’s older horse division. Moreno and Catch a Flight won graded stakes on opposite sides of the country this spring, building to their second meeting of the year in Saturday’s $200,000 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita.
Moreno scored an upset win at 7-1 in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on April 18, a race in which the heavily favored Shared Belief was pulled up with a hip injury. Catch a Flight won the Grade 3 Precisionist Stakes here May 2, his first stakes win.
Moreno, trained by Eric Guillot, and Catch a Flight, trained by Richard Mandella, are part of a field of nine in the Grade 2 Californian, which is run at 1 1/8 miles. The Californian is a prep for the $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 27, the top race for older horses at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting.
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Californian, race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Catch a Flight (Last 3 Beyers: 101-105-96)
◗ Catch a Flight did not start between the Big Cap and the Precisionist, with Mandella resting the 5-year-old Argentine-bred for a spring and summer campaign. In the Precisionist, Catch a Flight closed from fifth in a field of eight to win by three-quarters of a length over Sammy Mandeville, who starts in the Californian.
◗ Catch a Flight won at 1 1/8 miles this year in an optional claimer. In recent starts, he has proven to be a steady runner in the stretch and not one likely to display a quick burst of speed.
“His races continue to get better,” Mandella said. “He doesn’t do spectacular things. He’s good and solid and steady. He’s sure done what we’ve asked of him.”
Moreno (Last 3 Beyers: 105-93-105)
◗ Moreno, a 5-year-old gelding, has not won consecutive races since he beat maidens and won the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park in June and July 2013.
◗ Cornelio Velasquez, who rode Moreno in the Charles Town Classic, has the mount Saturday. Moreno is likely to race just behind Big Cazanova, who is expected to be prominent from the inside post. If they engage in a speed duel, Catch a Flight and Sammy Mandeville will be the beneficiaries.
◗ Moreno is the horse Mandella rates as one to fear.
“Moreno is a good horse,” Mandella said. “You have to catch him, too.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Moreno. Trainer Eric Guillot is 51-1-7-4 with a $0.28 ROI over the past five years in dirt routes on the Southern California circuit. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Sammy Mandeville (Last 3 Beyers: 100-82-100)
◗ Sammy Mandeville has yet to win a stakes but closed with interest in the Precisionist to finish three-quarters of a length behind Catch a Flight. In the Californian, Sammy Mandeville breaks from the outside post and will need a lucky trip under jockey Rafael Bejarano, trainer Doug O’Neill said.
“We need a typical, masterful Bejarano ride,” O’Neill said. “He needs clear sailing. If he can get a good, clean trip, I think he can compete with these guys.”