In the $40,000 River Rock Casino Stakes on June 14 at Hastings, the 3-year-old filly Chi Chi Time reared up in the gate before taking a sharp left turn from the inside post, nearly crashing into a white pickup truck before jockey Kuri Powell put her on the right path.
“My heart was in my throat,” said Chi Chi Time’s trainer, Pat Jarvis. “I was worried. Thank God Kuri stayed with her. He did an amazing job just to stay on.”
Powell did more than that, guiding Chi Chi Time to a front-running, 1 1/2-length victory over the Keith Pedersen trainee I’m in Control in the 6 1/2-furlong River Rock. Both of those horses, as well as fourth-place finisher Another Last Dance, return Saturday for the 1 1/16-mile Supernaturel for 3-year-old fillies.
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Chi Chi Time, by Jarvis’s own admission, has always been a handful to deal with, and her first order of business after the River Rock was to get the daughter of the multiple graded stakes winner Finality back into the gate for some schooling.
“We even paddock-schooled her,” Jarvis said. “She seems to be maturing nicely. She’s the type of horse who will walk by a bag of shavings 10 times, and then the 11th time, she’ll go, ‘What was that?’ ”
While the undefeated Chi Chi Time has never traveled more than 6 1/2 furlongs in her two starts, Finality was as classy a router as they come, leaving Jarvis with little concern about the added ground.
“I don’t think she’ll have any problem with the distance,” said Jarvis, whose horses have seven wins in 19 starts at the current Hastings meet, including an upset by Diocles in Tuesday’s $50,000 Lieutenant Governor’s Handicap. “Kuri really takes his time with her. One thing that Kuri mentioned is Chi Chi likes it when a horse comes up to her to engage. He finds another gear in her. She’s like, ‘Bring it on.’ ”
Chi Chi Time boasts both the best career (80) and last-out (71) Beyer Speed Figures in the field and will go off at an extremely short price. Should something go awry with the filly’s circuitry, I’m in Control has improved in each of her four races and figures best equipped to pick up the pieces in the Supernaturel, which goes as race 6 on a seven-race card.
Chris Loseth Handicap
Just as he did in the 6 1/2-furlong Ross McLeod Stakes on June 14, Steve Henson will saddle two 3-year-old geldings, Mount Doom and Rondelito, in Saturday’s renewal of the 1 1/16-mile Chris Loseth Handicap, which will kick off the day’s proceedings as race 1.
Mount Doom, co-owned by Steve’s wife, Lorie Henson, and Willow Creek Farms, had won five consecutive races – four of them stakes – heading into the McLeod, where he went off as the 2-5 favorite. But it was the rail-skimming Rondelito, owned outright by Lorie Henson, who emerged victorious by a half-length over his stablemate, whose wide trip may have cost him a sixth straight appearance in the winner’s circle.
“Was I surprised? Yes,” Steve Henson said when asked about the upset. “To this day, I still think Mount Doom’s a better colt, but Rondelito was on his game. He had the inside, which helps. When these horses win a race, their confidence just soars, and his has.”
Mount Doom won his only start at 1 1/16 miles in last year’s Glen Todd Ascot Graduation Stakes. Yet while Rondelito has never gone longer than 6 1/2 furlongs, his pedigree – and Henson – suggest he’ll appreciate the longer trip.
“He could go all day,” Henson said. “He never gets tired, wants more. The farther he goes, the better he gets.”
While Mount Doom and Rondelito are sure to fetch the shortest prices in the four-horse field, a longer shot to keep an eye on is Kyalam, who won a maiden race June 21 at 1 1/16 miles while forwardly placed on a track that favored closers that day.
“I think he ran a very impressive race last time,” Henson said of Kyalam, who’s trained by Mark Freeman and like Rondelito is sired by Lent. “When you’re stepping up to play with the big boys, it’s a little different game. He’s got Amadeo Perez with him, who’s our best rider, and I think he’s gonna want to go, which means one of our horses is going to have to go with him.”
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