New attitude helps Anotheratwistafate overcome long layoff in Longacres Mile

When Anothertwistafate made his entrance to the paddock for the Grade 3 Longacres Mile last Thursday, he did not look like a horse that was making his first start in 481 days and first since he finished 10th in the 2019 Preakness. He was cool, calm, and collected, and his coat could not have looked any healthier.

He stayed that way during the post parade and then ran to his looks. With Juan Gutierrez riding, he came from a stalking position to win the Longacres Mile by four lengths over Five Star General. In doing so, he became the first horse to win the most prestigious race in the Northwest without having raced in the same calendar year.

Anothertwistafate is trained by Blaine Wright and races for Peter Redekop. The pair came close to the same feat in 2018 with Alert Bay, who finished second. Last year, they went the more conventional route with Anyportinastorm, who lost to Law Abidin Citizen by the shortest of margins.

A change in Anothertwistafate’s demeanor helped Wright get him back to the races in such great shape.

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“He was a tough horse to manage as a 3-year-old,” Wright said. “He was a hot horse that wanted to go full bore all the time. He is more manageable now. He has learned to take a deep breath, and he’s turned the burners down a bit. It makes it a lot easier to keep him sound. He never missed a beat since we put him back in training.”

Despite his temperament, Anothertwistafate was an above-average 3-year-old. He won the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields by seven lengths before finishing second in the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby and Grade 3 Lexington at Keeneland. He closed his campaign in the Preakness, where he pressed a quick pace before fading.

He was easily the best horse on paper in the Mile. Wright was pleased that the race played out as envisioned.

“It never goes that way,” he said. “The plan was to pop him out of there, use his speed going into the turn, and then let him stalk. Juan rode him perfectly, and it could not have worked out any better. It was a relief because I was nervous all week, and there is a lot of pressure bringing a horse like him back from such a long layoff.”

Wright said the Kentucky-bred colt by Scat Daddy out of Imprecation came out of the race in excellent shape.

“We are not sure where he will run next, but it won’t be hard to find a race for a horse like him,” he said.

Wright’s main concern was getting Anothertwistafate back to his home base at Golden Gate.

“With all the fires in Oregon and Washington, it is hard to know when he’ll be able to make it back to Northern California,” he said. “We’ll let him train here until we can arrange it.”

◗ Dutton figures to be a short price to win a first-level allowance race for 2-year-olds that headlines the 10-race card on Wednesday at Emerald. Trained by Howard Belvoir, Dutton set fast fractions while winning the $36,000 WTBOA Lads in his only start on Aug. 27.