Weewinnin leads throughout California Dreamin'

DEL MAR, Calif. – There was no sneaking up on Weewinnin in Sunday’s $151,000 California Dreamin’ Handicap at Del Mar.

Racing without blinkers for the first time, Weewinnin led throughout the turf race for California-breds and held off a group of closers to win by a neck over 8-5 favorite Rock Me Baby.

Ridden by Joe Talamo, Weewinnin ($21.60) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.14, winning the third stakes of his career. Sunday’s victory continued a theme. Weewinnin has been a longshot in all of his stakes wins. He paid $122 in the King Glorious Stakes at Hollywood Park in 2012 and $44.80 when he won the California Cup Turf Classic at Santa Anita in January 2014.

Weewinnin led by as much as a length on the backstretch, setting a solid pace of 23.36 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.26 seconds for the first half-mile.

“I had a lot of horse,” Talamo said.

The lead was only a head with an eighth of a mile to go when Weewinnin was pressured by the 45-1 Aotearoa. While Aotearoa could not sustain the bid, Rock Me Baby closed well from eighth in a field of 10 to finish a close second.

“Taking the blinkers off made a huge difference,” Talamo said.

Rock Me Baby finished a nose in front of Poshsky, who was followed by Aotearoa, Ambitious Brew, G. G. Ryder, Patriots Rule, Lucky J Lane, Awesome Return, and Temple Keys.

Weewinnin’s career has been interrupted by injuries on occasion, but the California Dreamin’ Handicap was his fifth race of the year, the most starts in one season for the 5-year-old gelding.

Owned by a partnership that includes E-racing.com, William and Jill Gray, and Janet Lyons, Weewinnin is trained by Brian Koriner. By Comic Strip, Weewinnin has won 4 of 11 starts and earned $395,480.