Santiamen showing potential for Sano

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Santiamen kept his record perfect and may have earned himself a stakes opportunity by outfinishing stablemate Empire Power to capture Thursday’s $50,000 main event for Cairoli Racing Stable and trainer Antonio Sano.

Santiamen, a son of Dialed In, rallied from midpack to a 6 3/4-length victory in his debut last month at Gulfstream Park West. He also had to come from off the pace to win his 2-year-old finale Thursday, extricating himself from some traffic down the backstretch to engage Empire Power in the six-furlong dash, decided under first-level allowance and high-priced optional-claiming conditions. Tyler Gaffalione was aboard.

“He was a different horse today than his first start,” said Sano. “The first time, he was very quiet, but not today. He looked like he was in some trouble early, but Tyler give him two whips, and everything was okay. He was very professional for just his second start.”

:: CLOCKER REPORT: Get workout grades and comments for the Gulfstream Park Championship meet

Sano said he wasn’t sure what would be next for Santiamen but said he would stretch him out to at least seven furlongs and would eye the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes, going one mile on Jan. 6.

Gaffalione said he believes the best is yet to come for Santiamen.

“I’m very excited about this colt,” said Gaffalione. “He shows a lot of potential. He’s still green; he’s still learning. He has such raw potential. We’re just getting to the bottom of it now. He does whatever you ask from him. You can take him back, and when you ask him, he turns it on. He should have a nice future ahead of him. I think he’ll cover more ground, definitely.”