Restrainedvengence, Royal Ship begin comebacks in John Shear Mile
Restrainedvengence finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at 40-1 last November. Aspects of that loss still annoy trainer Val Brinkerhoff.
“I should have been second,” Brinkerhoff recalled Friday. “I got such a [bad] start.”
The BC Dirt Mile was Restrainedvengence’s final start of 2021. A 2022 campaign begins in Sunday’s $75,000 John Shear Mile on dirt at Santa Anita. While the John Shear Mile is Restrainedvengence’s first start in five months, Brinkerhoff has high expectations for the 7-year-old.
“If he runs back to that Breeders’ Cup race, they’ll be in trouble,” he said.
The John Shear Mile may be a minor race, but it has drawn a good field. Restrainedvengence is one of two prominent older geldings racing for the first time this year. Royal Ship, winner of the Grade 2 Californian Stakes last April, will start for the first time since a seventh as the 5-2 second choice in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar last August.
“I think he’s in pretty good shape,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “I wish I had another good long work in him. It’s time to go.”
Royal Ship lost his final three starts of 2021, but kept good company. He was second by a head to Country Grammer in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in May. Country Grammer won the Dubai World Cup last month.
In July, Royal Ship was third behind Express Train and Tripoli in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap. Tripoli won the Pacific Classic last August. Express Train won the Santa Anita Handicap last month for his third consecutive stakes win.
Royal Ship races as a stalker and is likely to be in pursuit of runners such as Triple Tap, Defunded, and Lambeau.
Defunded, second by a nose in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby last July, and Triple Tap, a disappointing third at 1-5 in a seven-furlong allowance race Feb. 27, were recently transferred from trainer Bob Baffert to Sean McCarthy.
Baffert is in the midst of a 90-day suspension for a medication violation found in Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
The John Shear Mile will be the second start of the year for Lambeau, who had a troubled trip in a one-mile allowance race March 25. Lambeau won an allowance race at a mile on dirt last April.
Restrainedvengence is likely to run in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf on April 30 at Golden Gate Fields if he runs well Sunday. Owned by Brinkerhoff’s wife, Kelly, and Bob Grayson Jr., Restrainedvengence was third in the San Francisco Mile last April.
Val Brinkerhoff’s confidence in Restrainedvengence stems from consistent training in recent weeks.
“He’s grown a bunch and filled out,” Brinkerhoff said. “He’s doing better at this time of the year than he has in years before. He’ll be tough to beat.”
The John Shear Mile is named in honor of the 101-year-old retired paddock captain who retired last year after working at Santa Anita for more than 60 years.