ARCADIA, Calif. – Two top sprinters were missing from the first of five Cal-bred stakes Saturday at Santa Anita, and maybe it’s a good thing they stayed home.
Man O Rose crushed three rivals in the $122,500 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint; his nine-length romp was the most lopsided of his 11 for 18 career. Regular rider Edwin Maldonado rode Man O Rose ($3.60 favorite) for trainer Jeff Mullins and owner-breeder Bruce Zietz.
The Cal Cup Sprint was run without multiple stakes winner Big City Lights, who scratched after he grabbed a quarter early in the week, and Grade 1 winner Lovesick Blues, who is on the comeback trail. As fast as Man O Rose ran on Saturday, they might not have had a chance.
Man O Rose popped the gate under Maldonado, while main pace rival Book Smart broke slowly. The race was effectively over. Man O Rose sped the opening quarter-mile in :21.85, and a half-mile in :44.10. He ran away through the lane, winning in 1:08.68 over longshot runner-up Drop Um. Book Smart and Speedy Wilson finished third and fourth, respectively.
The final time was the fastest Cal Cup Sprint since 1:08.42 by Sunday Rules in 2016.
Although the win by Man O Rose did not surprise his owner-breeder, the margin certainly did. “I didn’t expect that!,” Zietz exclaimed afterward. “I did think he would win, but you get a little spooked when somebody (a rival) bets $30,000 on their horse.”
Book Smart was the recipient of a large early win bet, and opened as the 1-9 favorite before drifting to start as co-second choice at 2.30-1. Book Smart lost his chance when he broke slowly, rushed forward to press, and faded to third. How much did the break compromise Book Smart?
“It’s a sprint, it costs you everything,” jockey Mike Smith said. “He was just acting bad in the gate.”
Not so Man O Rose, a 6-year-old gelding by Stanford who continues to thrive. The Cal Cup Sprint was his fourth consecutive stakes victory. “He’s getting better mentally,” Zietz said. “When he first started, he didn’t have the mind for a racehorse.
“He used to throw his head up, and he used to get uptight, and sweat. He doesn’t do that anymore,” Zietz said.
Although trainers often provide instructions to jockeys, Mullins did not strategize with Maldonado. “I didn’t say a word,” Mullins said. “(Maldonado) works him, and he rides him. He knows what to do. The key to that horse is just getting him to let go of the bridle and cruise along.”
Man O Rose cruised to his fifth stakes victory, with plenty of options ahead in the Cal-bred stakes program. Mullins was asked, what is next? “A lot of Cal-bred races. Long, short, dirt, turf.” The next Cal-bred sprint stakes is the $100,000 Sensational Star Stakes, a hillside turf sprint on March 22 at Santa Anita. Man O Rose was produced by Zietz-bred Kathleen Rose.
Speedy Wilson finished last in the four-horse field.
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