Santiamen stays home for optional-claiming sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Antonio Sano resisted the temptation of shipping Santiamen to Tampa Bay Downs last Saturday to run in a stakes. Instead, the impressive debut winner will stay at home in south Florida, where he figures to be the odds-on favorite in Thursday’s feature at Gulfstream Park.

The $50,000 race will be at six furlongs under first-level optional-claiming conditions.

Santiamen turned in a very professional effort in his lone start, rating off the early leaders before swooping wide and rallying into the stretch to an easy 6 3/4-length victory going 5 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream Park West on Nov. 24. The son of Dialed In earned a 67 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sano, who trains Santiamen for Cairoli Racing Stable, considered running Santiamen in the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, but decided not to ship him across the state.

“He’s working very well since his first race,” Sano said. “He went one minute flat on Saturday, and I expect him to run even better the second time.”

Sano thinks sprinting will be Santiamen’s game, at least for now.

“I think eventually he’ll want more distance,” Sano said. “But right now, we are going to take it slow.”

Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Santiamen in his debut, will have the mount again Thursday.

Santiamen is one of two juveniles Sano will send out in the race along with the more-experienced Empire Power, who exits a fourth-place finish here 12 days ago over a sloppy track in the Buffalo Man Stakes.

A couple of other improving youngsters each coming off an easy maiden win, Gone Fishing and Charge Card, could provide Santiamen with his sternest opposition.

Gone Fishing contested all the pace before drawing away to a 6 1/4-length triumph at Gulfstream West six weeks ago and may prove the one to catch if he gets away cleanly from the rail. Charge Card ships in from Hawthorne, where he registered an 11 1/4-length maiden tally on Nov. 30.

Salambo figures to force the early pace. He returns with statebreds after finishing third against a strong field of open $50,000 starter-allowance foes earlier this month. Rounding out the lineup are New Champion and Oh My Warrior.

Sano reported that he’s ready to step things up training wise with his Pegasus hopeful Gunnevera in the weeks ahead.

Gunnevera, who passed on Saturday’s Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday to train up to the Pegasus on Jan. 27, has turned in a series of relatively slow five-furlong works over the past several weeks at Gulfstream Park West. Gunnevera has been working by himself, but Sano said he plans to put him in company for his next two breezes, hoping to spark the Travers runner-up to do a little more in the morning as race day approaches.

“He worked very slow last Saturday, in 1:02, and galloped out in 1:16,” Sano said. “The horse has been very quiet. We’ve been pampering him up to this point. Now it’s time for him to get a little more serious.”