O'Neill makes the right call; J B Strikes Back upsets Pincay Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – A longshot gelding who won a $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint only five months ago scored a $34.80 upset in the Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes on Thursday at Santa Anita.

J B Strikes Back, the less-regarded Doug O’Neill trainee, won the $200,000 Pincay by 1 1/4 lengths over Tarantino. American Admiral finished third, while O’Neill-trained Katonah finished sixth as the 3-2 favorite.

The 1 1/16-mile Pincay, formerly called the San Antonio, was the first of six stakes opening day at Santa Anita. O’Neill knew he was taking a shot with J B Strikes Back, who was claimed from O’Neill in summer for $20,000 before he re-claimed him next out for $25,000. The gelding entered the Pincay off a victory in an entry-level allowance.

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“He’s just been in great form, we knew he’d be forwardly placed,” O’Neill said. “We thought we’d take a chance.”

It was a good move in a stakes that did not include two key nominees. Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano is sidelined with an unspecified setback; Grade 3 winner Skinner was recently transferred to the Midwest.

That left a field of eight in the Pincay, and jockey Antonio Fresu put J B Strikes Back into the race. He pressed or set the pace inside through a fast half-mile in 45.67 and six furlongs in 1:09.99. The pace was fast over a track that played fast. J B Strikes Back completed the distance in 1:43.80, while it Tarantino finished a nose in front of American Admiral.

O’Neill and owner Janie Buss (Purple Rein Racing) gelded J B Strikes Back in June, and he crushed a maiden race in his first start afterward. He was claimed from the win; O’Neill and Buss (the Buss family owns the Los Angeles Lakers) re-claimed him for $25,000 his next start. His last two starts, both wins, were the best of his career.

“He’s always been a horse with a talent, but he didn’t really apply himself all the time,” O’Neill said. Since he was gelded, he has gradually improved. His sire is one of O’Neill’s all-time favorites – Goldencents, who won two BC Dirt Miles for O’Neill.

The Pincay was his third straight win, and his fourth from nine starts. He earned $120,000 winning the Pincay, increasing his career total to $191,660. The $34.80 winning payoff on J B Strikes Back in the Pincay/San Antonio was the highest since the race was moved to December in 2017.

Katonah was the Pincay disappointment; both O’Neill and jockey Frankie Dettori think they know why. “They put blinkers on to make him a bit sharper, and maybe it worked against him,” Dettori said. “I think I had him too close. He’s a horse you have to leave alone. I had him too close. It backfired.”

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