Unblunted gets another stakes shot in Sham

ARCADIA, Calif. – Shortly after the start of the Gold Rush Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on Dec. 6, luck deserted Unblunted, the even-money favorite.

He was five wide on the first turn of the one-mile race for 2-year-olds and raced off the rail throughout, finishing fifth, 3 1/2 lengths behind race winner Stand and Salute.

“Nothing unfolded properly for the horse,” trainer Michael McCarthy recalled Tuesday.

The loss has not deterred McCarthy and owner Nick Cosato from trying Unblunted in Saturday’s $100,000 Sham Stakes over a mile. The Grade 3 Sham Stakes has a stronger field than did the Gold Rush and is the first major race of 2015 for 3-year-olds in Southern California. The local 3-year-old series leads to the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4.

“This will tell us a lot this weekend,” McCarthy said.

Unblunted, by Sharp Humor, has made three starts. After finishing second at Los Alamitos in September in his debut, Unblunted won a maiden race over seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 18.

The colt is part of a projected field of eight in the Sham Stakes, led by Calculator and Lord Nelson, who were second and fourth in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes here in September. Lord Nelson later won the Speakeasy Stakes over six furlongs and was fifth after a wide trip in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29.

Other probable starters are Hero Ten All, Papacoolpapacool, Rock Shandy, Rockinatten, and St. Joe Bay.