Steiner hopes to continue winning ways at Golden Gate meet

With the end of summer still a few weeks away, trainer Jack Steiner is already having a career-best year in Northern California.

Steiner, 56, has won a personal-best 37 races this year despite not having had a runner since July 31 at Cal-Expo in Sacramento.

The difference, he said, has been a renewed focus on the job.

“I’ve finally grown up a little bit,” he said on Wednesday. “I want to work a little bit. Maybe I’m more focused on horses. It happens when you’re 56 years old.”

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Steiner’s previous best was 32 wins in 2015. When Golden Gate Fields opens its 19-day late summer meeting on Friday, Steiner has contenders in two of the eight races, notably the former claimer A Man’s Man in the seventh race, an allowance race at a mile.

A Man’s Man has been a surprise for Steiner and his client Remmah Racing since they claimed him for $8,000 when second in a one-mile race at Golden Gate Fields in May. A Man’s Man is unbeaten in three consecutive starts for Steiner, including an allowance race at a mile at Sacramento on July 24.

There was a hope that A Man’s Man could be competitive in restricted $20,000 claimers, Steiner said, but the gelding has accomplished more.

“The way he’s training lately, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue,” Steiner said.

A Man’s Man, who will be ridden by Assael Espinoza, is part of a nine-horse field that includes a new runner to Northern California in the well-traveled Buenisimo. Claimed by Steve Sherman for $25,000 at Del Mar on July 31, Buenisimo won a race on the synthetic track at Gulfstream Park last December and one in February.

Steiner has a 30-horse stable. At the winter-spring meeting at Golden Gate Fields, which ended on June 12, Steiner finished fifth in the standings with 29 wins.

Steiner won with a sharp 24.7 percent of his runners, third among the top 10 trainers behind Steve Specht, who won with 30.9 percent of his starters, and Reid France at 28.2 percent.

Jonathan Wong led all trainers with 71 wins, and is expected to dominate the standings at the late summer meeting, which ends on Oct. 2.

Steiner has high expectations for his stable. He hopes to have as many as seven runners through Sunday.

“It would be nice to be a top five trainer,” he said. “I’ve got to keep the numbers up and put the horses where they fit. I think my luck should continue.”

Since the end of the winter-spring meeting, Golden Gate Fields has undergone an extensive renovation of backstretch sewer works that forced all stables to temporarily relocate to fair grounds at Pleasanton and Sacramento. There was concern among the racing community that the project could interfere with the resumption of racing this week, but the work was completed in time for stables to return to the barn area earlier this month.

“All of us are grateful to be back here,” Steiner said.