Silent Poet brings synthetic background to Golden Gate Handicap

Earlier in his career, the 8-year-old gelding Silent Poet made periodic starts on the synthetic track at Woodbine, placing in stakes in 2018 and again last year.

Silent Poet’s background on the surface may be an asset when he starts in Saturday’s Grade 3 Golden Gate Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields.

Silent Poet, trained in Southern California by John Sadler, is part of a field of eight in the $100,000 Golden Gate Handicap, a race formerly run as the Berkeley Handicap.

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Owned by Stronach Stable and Joel Hunsburger, Silent Poet had a successful prep race at Golden Gate on Sept. 30, leading throughout an allowance race at a mile on turf.

“He’s an old class horse,” Sadler said. “I think he likes synthetic knowing he was at Woodbine for two or three years. We think it will be good for him.”

Sadler said he was encouraged by Silent Poet’s five-furlong workout in a minute on the infield training track at Santa Anita on Oct. 27.

Silent Poet is likely to be near the lead under jockey Evin Roman, and will be tracked by the Bay Area veteran I’mgonnabesomebody, the winner of four stakes in the last 14 months.

Trained by Bill McLean, I’mgonnabesomebody led throughout the Bull Dog Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at the Big Fresno Fair on Oct. 15, ending a four-race losing streak since a win in the All-American Stakes at a mile on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields in May.

The result was a brighter race for I’mgonnabesomebody compared to a sixth-place finish behind Silent Poet on Sept. 30.

“I was hoping he’d run like that,” McLean said of the Bull Dog win.

“The time before they weren’t going that fast up front. I thought [the jockey] took a little too much hold of him.”

Alexander Chavez rode I’mgonnabesomebody in the allowance race in September, while Santos Rivera was aboard for the Bull Dog. Rivera has the mount in the Golden Gate Handicap.

“I think he’ll be close,” McLean said.

The Golden Gate Handicap field has four other stakes winners – Il Bellator, Lammas, Tripoli, and War at Sea.

Tripoli, trained by Sadler, won the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar in 2021. Earlier this year, Tripoli won an allowance race at a mile on the synthetic track. A stalker, he was later third in the All-American Stakes.

Saturday’s race will be the first start on a synthetic track for War at Sea, who won the Cinema Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita in June 2022, but is winless in his last five starts.

Trained by Ron Ellis, War at Sea was fourth in the restricted Lure Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita last Saturday in a quickly run race.

Ellis said on Thursday that a synthetic track start is an experiment with War at Sea.

“I think most turf horses handle synthetic,” he said. “I think he wants more ground. A synthetic track will play a little longer.”

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