Right Hand Man holds off Mach One Rules in Oakland Stakes

Trainer Jeff Bonde had been a bit frustrated since Right Hand Man’s third-place finish in the Oak Tree Sprint at Pleasanton on July 4, but the frustrations vanished on Saturday when the 3-year-old gelding ($19.40) held off Mach One Rules to win the $66,125 Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

Right Hand Man’s race went just as Bonde expected it to.

Jockey Ricardo Gonzalez had him sitting second behind speedy stakes winner Quick and Silver down the backstretch and around the turn. Right Hand Man took over as the field of 10 turned for home, opening a two-length lead. He continued strongly to the finish as Mach One Rules, winner of three stakes this summer at Emerald Downs, kept cutting into his lead, and prevailed by a nose over that rival at the wire. Outside Nashville, the 2015 Oakland winner, was a length back in third, followed by defending winner Star Student.

“That’s exactly what I expected when [Quick and Silver] went for the lead and we were sitting second,” said Bonde. “When he was able to make separation turning for home, I got pretty excited.”

Right Hand Man was gelded less than two weeks after his third in the Oak Tree Sprint, even though he had won a pair of stakes as a 2-year-old.

“He’s a robust kind of horse, and we gelded him to help keep weight off him and because we thought it would help him,” said Bonde.

Right Hand Man, a son of Street Boss, had 17 works but no races before the Oakland. Bonde said he tried repeatedly to enter the gelding, but the races never filled.

The victory was worth $30,500 to Right Hand Man, owned by Blinkers On Racing Stable with a number of individual co-owners. Right Hand Man, a $120,000 Barretts purchase in October 2015, now has a 4-1-1 record from 8 career starts and has earned $147,780.