Tarabilla Farms' Melatonin (Kodiak Kowboy) was second off a November layoff and was making only his second start past 6 1/2 furlongs in Saturday's GI Santa Anita H. at the Great Race Place. By a winner of the GI Cigar Mile H. and out of a mare by a GI Met Mile hero, neither did it seem like his pedigree was crying out for the Big 'Cap's 10-furlong trip. But, sent off at 16-1 and in the race in large part at the behest of jockey Joe Talamo, the 5-year-old set a generous pace and galloped home a very easy winner.
“[Trainer] David [Hofmans] freshened him, brought him back, we worked him, and he kept looking for another spot, wanting to go a mile on the turf. But it rained and the race didn't go, so finally we decided on the two-other-than long on dirt and he won by nearly four lengths [Feb. 5],” said Scotty McClellan, agent to Talamo. “Then David said he was going to nominate to three stakes, the [GI] Kilroe [Mile] [on the turf], the San Carlos [seven furlongs on the dirt] and the Santa Anita H., and Joe kept pushing him to run in the Handicap, telling him, 'He'll run all day, he wasn't tired,' and finally convinced David.”
Hofmans, who orchestrated the 1996 GI Breeders' Cup Classic upset with Alphabet Soup and derailed the Triple Crown dreams of Silver Charm with Touch Gold the following spring, was still exploring the options for a next start for Melatonin.
“I don't have any thoughts about where to run next,” the veteran horseman said. “We'll play it by ear and talk with The Team, meaning Scotty and Joe, and see what they want to do. But the horse looked really good this morning. It wasn't a big effort for him.”
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