Stakes winners Shrug, Senor Rojo top field in optional claimer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It is a bit surprising to see Shrug and Senor Rojo show up in an intriguing $35,000 optional-claiming race for 3-year-olds and up who have never won two races other than maiden, claiming, or starter.

Sunday’s 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew nine horses, and since Shrug and Senor Rojo are multiple stakes winners, they are eligible to be claimed for $35,000. It will be the first time they have been up for sale in their respective careers.

Shrug, trained by Dino Condilenios, is the better sprinter. He won the 6 1/2-furlong George Royal Stakes here last year and the $93,000 Green Flash Handicap going five furlongs at Del Mar in 2012.

A 6-year-old horse by Medaglia d’Oro, Shrug is coming off a disappointing effort in the $50,000 John Longden 6000 Stakes in his first start at the meet. He had been off since he finished fourth in the 1 1/8-mile S. W. Randall Plate last September. He appears to have lost a step, and it probably makes sense for Condilenios to place him in races in which he can be more competitive.

FORMULATOR FACT: 7 Shrug (5-2). New rider is 2 for 8 ($2.48 ROI) with five in-the-money finishes when riding for Dino Condilenios over the past two months. Click for more details.

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His usual rider, Frank Fuentes, bails to ride another Condilenios-trained horse, Golden Triumph.

Apprentice Corrine Andros picks up the call.

A Grade 3 winner at 1 3/8 miles, Senor Rojo obviously wants more distance. Nonetheless, the 8-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding has won sprinting and should appreciate the shape of the race.

Trained by Dave Forster, Senor Rojo rallied to finish third in the George Royal but wasn’t much of a factor in the John Longden, which was won by Taylors Deal in near-record time for the track. His graded win came in the 2010 B.C. Premier’s Stakes, and he also won the 1 3/8-mile Speed to Spare Stakes at Northlands in 2011 and last year.

Golden Triumph has just one way of going and will be the one they have to catch. He posted extreme fractions before collapsing in the George Royal in a race he may have needed. In his second start this year, he scored a front-running win in a $25,000 claiming race going 6 1/2 furlongs May 11.

There is other speed in the field, particularly Success Rate, who is looking for his first win since he romped by 13 1/2 lengths in a first-level allowance race June 28 at Calder.

El Capone could be heard from late, and The Gov could be dangerous from a stalking position.