Streamside set for usual strong effort in Oakland Stakes
Streamside will be looking to make amends for his failure to defend his title in the Oak Tree Sprint this summer when he meets seven rivals Saturday in the $50,000-added Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate Fields. The six-furlong race attracted a field of eight 3-year-olds and up.
Streamside likes to win, as his 13-for-28 record attests. Since June 2014, he has been among the top sprinters in Northern California, with seven wins, including four straight during the summer and fall of last year. He has finished worse than third only once in his last 11 starts, and that came in the Oak Tree Sprint on July 5 at Pleasanton. Sent off as the 7-5 favorite, Streamside hopped at the start, got off last, and finished seventh.
Streamside bounced back to win a four-horse allowance sprint for fun Sept. 7 at Golden Gate under regular rider Juan Hernandez.
“He’s been a great horse,” trainer Sergio Ledezma said of Streamside, a 6-year-old E Dubai gelding who ran third in this race last year. “He’s a tough little guy. He gets worked up at the gate and just wants to fight.”
Streamside’s main rival could be Southern California invader Glacken Too, who finished third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship in his most recent start and was third last year in the Grade 3 Jersey Shore at Monmouth.
Other contenders include the stakes-winning filly City by the Bay, the comebacking Ourwestcoastghost, the consistent Aalsmeer, and the stakes winner Ankeny Hill.
OAKLAND STAKES (race 7)
KEY CONTENDERS
Streamside (Last 3 Beyers: 93-74-87)
◗ He has won going wire to wire and from a stalking position.
◗ He hasn’t raced in more than two months but has run well fresh and comes into this race with a series of steady works, including a six-furlong bullet work in 1:11.60.
Glacken Too (Last 3 Beyers: 86-73-78)
◗ Trained by Phil D’Amato in Southern California, he makes his first start at Golden Gate and runs Saturday for trainer Steve Sherman.
◗ His strong effort in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship came after a pair of disappointing efforts at Belmont and Del Mar.
◗ He’s met the best competition in the field.
City by the Bay (Last 3 Beyers: 67-81-72)
◗ She’ll need to show improvement to beat the boys, but her stalking style should play well in this race.