Visitant mows down favorites in Alcatraz Stakes

Visitant ($13.60) avenged the only loss of his career as he pulled clear of favorites One Bad Boy and Kingly in the stretch to win the $75,600 Alcatraz Stakes on Sunday at Golden Gate Fields.

The mile race for 3-year-olds was switched from turf to the main track because of heavy, unseasonable rains.

Visitant won his first two career starts and was a fast-finishing second to Kingly in the California Derby in his last start.

He sat a bit closer in the Alcatraz and Kingly, the 3-2 second choice, led the odds-on favorite One Bad Boy through the first six furlongs of the race

William Antongeorgi III, who has ridden Visitant in all four career starts was content to stalk and placed the Ghostzapper colt a bit closer down the backstretch than he been in his first two route starts.

“I left it up to the rider. He knows the horse,” said winning trainer John Martin. “I was a little concerned that he was four wide on the turn, but he was in the clear.”

Kingly and One Bad Boy dueled through fractions of 23.21 seconds, 47.79, and 1:11.96 before Kingly began to crack at the quarter pole and One Bad Boy took the lead.

Antongeorgi gave Visitant one left-handed tap and then put him under a vigorous hand ride, roaring past Kingly and One Bad Boy and pulling clear for a 1 1/4-length victory, covering the mile in 1:36.73. One Bad Boy was 1 1/2 lengths in front of Kingly, who was 3 1/2 lengths in front of Rey Coliman, who edged The Creep by a nose for fourth.

“The horse knows where the wire is,” said Martin of the Williamson Racing homebred. “We've got a nice horse, and now we'll have to decide where to run him next.”

Visitant earned $45,000 to increase his lifetime earnings to $101,600.