Reneesgotzip too fast for CERF rivals

DEL MAR, Calif. – With a new son, Peter Miller and his wife, Lani, know that baby needs a new pair of shoes. Miller also thought Reneesgotzip needed a new pair for the $103,390 CERF Stakes on Wednesday at Del Mar.

With new toe grabs on her front shoes, Reneesgotzip made easy work of her rivals, and when she got to the winner’s circle, Seth Henry Miller, just a few weeks old, was waiting for his first winner’s circle photo.

Reneesgotzip ($3.20) was an overwhelming favorite against seven other older female sprinters based on her top-class form in graded stakes. But after she bobbled at the start when finishing third in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap last time out Aug. 17, Miller was concerned about the way Reneesgotzip was getting over this track. So he added toe grabs.

Reneesgotzip broke cleanly from the inside stall, got to the lead quickly, and was gone. She won by 5 1/4 lengths over Top Killer, who finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of third place Go West Marie.

Reneesgotzip set fractions of 21.96 seconds and 44.64 en route to a final time of 1:08.51 for six furlongs on Polytrack. She has now won eight times in 15 starts, and is 4 for 5 at Del Mar.

“I usually don’t use toe grabs on this track, but the way she spun her wheels last time, I decided to use them, and it certainly helped,” Miller said.

Edwin Maldonado rode Reneesgotzip, a 5-year-old mare by City Zip who is owned by Debbie Lanni.

Reneesgotzip is expected to make her next start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, a race in which she has competed the two prior years. She was third in 2012, and finished in a dead heat for second last year.