Midnight Storm Makes All in San Pasqual

Midnight Storm | Benoit Photo

In a race which lost much of its mystique after the withdrawal of budding superstar Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile) went wire-to-wire and splashed home 1 1/4 lengths in front of a late-closing Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) to capture the GII San Pasqual S. at Santa Anita Sunday.

A Grade I winner on turf, Midnight Storm was bet down to 3-5 as he looked for a second straight graded tally over the main track. The 6-year-old made a relatively easy lead through a :23.02 quarter, but was pressed by Dalmore (Colonel John) down the backstretch through a half in :45.59 and three-quarters in a blistering 1:08.93. Shaken up in early stretch by Rafael Bejarano, the chalk disposed of his pace pursuer and kept finding to hold safe the late bid of Accelerate, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.65.

“I thought he would love the surface,” said winning trainer Phil D'Amato. “They were going fast. I saw :45 and 1:08 and change, but he dug in there gamely and held them off today.”

Bejarano added, “The track has been playing fast since earlier today. I knew I had to put my horse on the lead. I needed a good start and when I put him on the lead, I felt the pressure right away. Dalmore was right next to me, chasing me the whole way. I kept him on the lead, but tried to give him a breather at the half-mile pole. At the three-eighths, I knew he would keep running. He loves to be on the lead and he always gives me something else.”

Arrogate, last-out winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, had been expected to use the San Pasqual as a prep for the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup, but days of rain in Southern California and the resulting off track forced trainer Bob Baffert to sidestep the race. Instead, the newly turned 4-year-old will train up to the $12-million race, Baffert confirmed Sunday morning.

“Obviously, Arrogate scratching improved our chances of winning today,” D'Amato admitted. “In my eyes, that horse is the Horse of the Year. At the same time, there's a bit of you that wants to test your horse against the best and see where you stand, but I'm very happy with my horse's performance.”

Midnight Storm's biggest moments have come on the turf, where his four graded victories include wins in the 2014 GII Del Mar Derby–after which Little Red Feather Racing joined the ownership group–and in the 2015 GII Seabiscuit H. He reeled off three straight wins last summer, taking the June 4 GI Shoemaker Mile, July 17 GII Eddie Read S. and Aug. 21 GII Del Mar Mile H. before finishing third behind Tourist (Tiznow) and Tepin (Bernstein) in the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Mile. The dark bay returned to the main track for the first time since finishing 10th in the 2015 GI Pacific Classic and responded with a resounding 7 3/4-length wire-to-wire victory in the Nov. 27 GIII Native Diver S. at Del Mar.

Midnight Storm's victory denied Hronis Racing its third straight win on Santa Anita's holiday card, but connections were far from discouraged by Accelerate's runner-up effort.

“He's going to be a super horse, I really mean that,” jockey Tyler Baze said of Accelerate, who was coming off a third-place effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. “I think John [Sadler]'s going to try blinkers next time and we'll try to get him into the race a little sooner. He's going to be a special horse.”

Pedigree Notes:

My Tina, in foal to Bodemeister, RNA'd at $525,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. Her colt by Pioneerof the Nile, who was bought back for $300,000 as a weanling at the 2015 Keeneland November sale, sold for $925,000 to M.V. Magnier and Stonestreet Stables at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The 16-year-old mare, a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and graded stakes placed Ask Shananie (Shananie), also has an unraced 3-year-old named Uncle Willie. She had no registered foal in 2016. Owner/breeder Alex Venneri, president of a California-based real estate mortgage business, and the late Marjorie Post Dye purchased My Tina for $82,000 as a yearling in 2002.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
SAN PASQUAL S.-GII, $196,000, SA, 1-1, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:40.65, wf.
1–MIDNIGHT STORM, 125, h, 6, by Pioneerof the Nile
1st Dam: My Tina, by Bertrando
2nd Dam: Ask Directions, by Darby Creek Road
3rd Dam: Khal On Me, by Vertex
($38,000 RNA Ylg '12 KEESEP). O-A Venneri Racing, Inc. & Little
Red Feather Racing; B-Alex Venneri & Marjorie Post Dye (KY);
T-Philip D'Amato; J-Rafael Bejarano. $120,000. Lifetime
Record: GISW, 21-10-3-1, $1,461,110.[bullet ad=”winstar-eligible-youre-a-winner”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″][bullet ad=”vinery-sales-grad”][bullet ad=”blackwood-graduate-2″] Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus*.
2–Accelerate, 125, c, 4, Lookin At Lucky–Issues, by Awesome
Again. ($380,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-Mike
Abraham (KY); T-John W. Sadler. $40,000.[bullet ad=”bluewater-shell-big-fish”]
3–Dalmore, 122, c, 4, Colonel John–Silver Breeze, by Silver
Deputy. ($47,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Big Chief Racing, LLC,
Head of Plains Partners LLC, Rocker O Ranch, LLC et al.; B-Sally
J. Andersen (FL); T-J. Keith Desormeaux. $24,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2HF, 9. Odds: 0.60, 3.90, 6.20.
Also Ran: Prospect Park. Scratched: Arrogate.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

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