Wound Up looks to bounce back in Gold Rush Stakes

Wound Up was 123-1 in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4 at Keeneland and ran to his odds, racing at the back of the field before finishing ninth of 10.

“We wanted to give it a whirl,” trainer Michael McCarthy recalled Thursday. “He didn’t seem to handle the kickback.”

Wound Up is based at Santa Anita, but is back on the road again for a start in Saturday’s $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes at a mile for 2-year-olds at Golden Gate Fields.

The race will play a major role in determining how Wound Up is raced in coming months.

“It boils down to if he gets a mile,” McCarthy said. “This will be a good gauge. A nice break in class should suit him.”

Wound Up won his debut in a maiden special weight race at a five furlongs on turf at Del Mar in August and was later sixth and fifth in turf stakes at Del Mar and Santa Anita. Wound Up encountered trouble in both stakes.

Owned by Paul and Zillah Reddam, Wound Up drew the outside post in a solid field of 10 in the Gold Rush, the eighth race on a nine-race program that begins at 12:45 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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A wide post is likely to force jockey Mario Gutierrez to urge Wound Up forward in the opening furlong to avoid a wide trip.

“I’m not crazy about an outside draw,” McCarthy said.

The competition includes two locally based stakes winners – the undefeated Clovis Connection and the three-time winner Passarando. Both are starting at a mile for the first time.

Clovis Connection won his stakes debut in the Golden Nugget Stakes at six furlongs on Nov. 12, disputing the pace throughout and finishing 4 1/4 lengths in front of runner-up Passarando.

Clovis Connection, trained by Blaine Wright, drew the rail in the Gold Rush Stakes and is expected to be part of the pace.

Passarando, trained by Steve Specht, scored an attractive win in the Golden State Juvenile for California-breds at seven furlongs on Oct. 29 at Santa Anita. In the Golden Nugget Stakes, Passarando closed from sixth in a field of seven at odds of 7-10 to finish second.

“I ran him back too soon from shipping to Santa Anita and shipping back,” Specht said. “Coming back in two weeks, it took a little starch out of him. I’m not taking anything away from Blaine Wright’s horse. He might be a runner.”

From Specht’s perspective, a mile may suit Passarando, who should have a pace to follow.

“I think it will be right up his alley,” he said. “He’s coming into this race a little better than the last one.”

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