He is on a two-race winning streak, will be ridden by the circuit’s leading rider, and is proven in distance races on turf. If there is a time to try the claimer Rastaman Vibe in a stakes, it’s in Saturday’s Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at 1 1/4 miles, according to trainer Steve Knapp.
“Why wouldn’t you give him a chance?” Knapp said. “It’s a short field. We have nothing to lose.”
Knapp claimed Rastaman Vibe for $50,000 at Del Mar on Sept. 7 on behalf of Coast Racing, Thomsen Racing, and Monty Silverstone. Under regular rider Juan Hernandez that afternoon, Rastaman Vibe closed from fourth of 11 to win an allowance race at 1 3/8 miles on turf by a half-length. The allowance was the first time Rastaman Vibe was eligible to be claimed since last October.
On July 20 at Del Mar, Rastaman Vibe won an allowance at 1 3/8 miles on turf with a similar closing style. Rastaman Vibe, who has won 4 of 21 starts, caught Knapp’s attention in 2024.
“I’ve been looking at him for over a year,” he said. “I thought he was game.”
In Saturday’s $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita, Rastaman Vibe is part of a field of seven that includes the stakes winners Balladeer, Dicey Mo Chara, Gold Phoenix, and Stay Hot, and the stakes-placed Mondego and Spycatcher.
Gold Phoenix will be favored on the strength of a fourth consecutive win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on Aug. 30. This is the fourth consecutive year in which Gold Phoenix has started in the John Henry Turf Championship. He was third in 2022 and fifth the last two years.
Rastaman Vibe will draw some support with the presence of Hernandez, but he does face a class test.
“I know he wants to run long,” Knapp said.
The John Henry Turf Championship is one of five stakes on a 10-race Saturday program with significant Breeders’ Cup implications. The program is led by the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on dirt. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1. The winner of the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on turf on Saturday receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile on turf on Nov. 1.
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