San Francisco Mile contender Rio King comes from humble beginnings
?q=100)
The projected field for the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday includes stakes winners at Keeneland and Saratoga - and the winner of a $20,000 claimer for maidens.
Rio King won the maiden-claiming race in November, but he has accomplished enough since then to make him a contender in the $250,000 San Francisco Mile.
A 4-year-old by Bal a Bali, Rio King has won his last three races, all on the synthetic main track at Golden Gate – two starter allowance races and an allowance race. The San Francisco Mile is on turf and will be Rio King’s stakes debut in his 13th start.
“We think he’s just beginning to take in his potential,” co-owner Mike Feigenbaum said on Wednesday from his home in Arizona.
“I love this sort of aggressive thing.”
Trainer Sam Calvario claimed Rio King for $20,000 from a sixth-place finish in a maiden race last October. Rio King won a similar race two starts later on turf, his only victory in seven starts on the surface. Since being claimed, Rio King has earned $57,420. The winner’s share of the San Francisco Mile is $150,000.
“His breeding fit the profile of what we look for in runners,” Feigenbaum said. “A lot of times horses benefit from a change of scenery.
“The big thing is Calvario himself. Whatever he gets, he improves. When he acquires a new horse, they always do better under his direction.
“I’ve spoken with him a great length about his training. He wants to get the horse happy, comfortable and put him in the right place to win.”
Through Wednesday, Calvario has won 16 races from 82 starters at the Golden Gate winter-spring meeting, which began on Dec. 26. Calvario has been particularly strong with horses he has recently claimed, winning with 5 of 10 such starters this year.
The leading candidates for the San Francisco Mile include Balnikhov, who won the Grade 3 Bryan Station Stakes at Keeneland last October; Flavius, who won the restricted Lure Stakes at Saratoga in 2021; and the Southern California stakes winners Bob and Jackie and Dicey Mo Chara.
Rio King will be ridden by Santos Rivera, and can be a factor from off the pace.
“Santos is a huge fan of the horse,” Feigenbaum said. “He’s confident that placing Rio King in this race was not a folly.”
The partnership that owns Rio King, Huntertown Farm, has 20 horses active in California, Ohio and West Virginia, Feigenbaum said. The partnership consists of people who are in the telecom industry, he said.
The San Francisco Mile is the richest race of the winter-spring meeting, and one of six stakes on the Saturday program. The $100,000 California Derby at 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic main track is the only other six-figure race on the card.
The track announced earlier this week that the 50-cent late pick five on Saturday will have a guaranteed pool of $150,000, while the 50-cent late pick four will have a guaranteed pool of $200,000.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.