San Luis Rey horses sweep top five finishes in San Gabriel Stakes

Horses who have trained at the San Luis Rey Training Center swept the top five finishing positions in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes contested Jan. 2 at Santa Anita Park.

Anothertwistafate won the 1 1/8-mile turf race for horses four years old and upward and had a winning time of 1:46.63. Bob and Jackie finished second, 2 1/4 lengths behind Anothertwistafate and two lengths in front of third-place Next Shares. Next Shares crossed the finish line a nose ahead of Multiplier, who finished with a one-length margin over fifth-place Bowies Hero. Peter Miller is the trainer for Anothertwistafate and Multiplier, Richard Baltas saddled Bob and Jackie and Next Shares, and Phil D'Amato trains Bowies Hero.

Anothertwistafate and jockey Joel Rosario broke first. Next Shares, who was ridden by Jose Valdivia, was the second horse out of the gate. Heriberto Figueroa rode Bob and Jackie, and they broke third. Bowies Hero and rider Flavien Prat broke fifth. Abel Cedillo had the mount for Multiplier, and they were the sixth jockey and horse combination out of the gate.

Bob and Jackie held the lead after the first quarter of a mile, reaching that distance in 23.02 seconds. Anothertwistafate was second, 2 1/2 lengths in back of Bob and Jackie and 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Next Shares, who led fourth-place Multiplier by half a length. Multiplier had a one-length lead over Cleopatra's Strike while Bowies Hero was in sixth, a length behind Cleopatra's Strike and half a length in front of seventh-place Count Again.

The first half-mile took Bob and Jackie 46.95 seconds, and at that point he still led Anothertwistafate by 2 1/2 lengths while Anothertwistafate was four lengths in front of Next Shares, who remained in third place for the rest of the race. Multiplier stayed in fourth place for the remainder of the race, and after the first four furlongs he was half a length in back of Next Shares and 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Cleopatra's Strike. Bowies Hero was in sixth but only a head behind Cleopatra's Strike while improving his lead over Count Again to two lengths.

Bob and Jackie still held the lead after three-quarters of a mile and completed that distance in 1:11.62. Anothertwistafate had moved to half a length behind Bob and Jackie. Next Shares was half a length in back of Anothertwistafate and half a length in front of Multiplier, who led Cleopatra's Strike by half a length. Cleopatra's Strike was a full length ahead of Bowies Hero. Count Again was a head in back of Bowies Hero and trailed Bob and Jackie by only three lengths.

Anothertwistafate took over the lead prior to the start of the stretch and entered the stretch 1:34.91 after the starter's gate was opened. Bob and Jackie trailed Anothertwistafate by a length while leading Next Shares by two lengths. Multiplier was 1 1/2 lengths behind Next Shares. Bowies Hero had moved into fifth and was leading Cleopatra's Strike by 1 1/2 lengths and Count Again by 3 1/2 lengths.

Cleopatra's Strike finished sixth, 3 1/4 lengths behind Bowies Hero. Not including starter bonuses the total purse of the San Gabriel Stakes was $200,000 and the distribution was $120,000 for first place, $40,000 for second, $24,000 for third, $12,000 for fourth, and $4,000 for fifth. Anothertwistafate now has career earnings of $490,505. The victory was the fifth for Anothertwistafate in ten career races and was Miller's first win with the horse who was sired by Scat Daddy out of Imprecation and foaled in Kentucky on April 17, 2016.

Owner Peter Redekop transferred Anothertwistafate to Miller's barn in fall 2020. Anothertwistafate had previously been trained by Blaine Wright, who is based in the Seattle area and has horses both at the Emerald Downs track near Seattle and at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. Wright began Anothertwistafate's racing career at Santa Anita in Nov. 2018, and the colt finished ninth. The next three races for Anothertwistafate were all at Golden Gate Fields and were all wins, including the El Camino Real Derby stakes race. Second-place finishes in Grade 3 stakes races at Sunland Park in New Mexico and the Keeneland track in Lexington, Kentucky, were followed by the 2019 Preakness Stakes in which Anothertwistafate finished 10th among the 13 horses.

Anothertwistafate was given a year off after the Preakness. Wright returned the colt to workouts in June 2020 at Golden Gate Fields. The first race after the Preakness was on Sept. 10, 2020, when Anothertwistafate won the Grade 3 Longacres Mile Handicap at Emerald Downs.

After Miller took over the training Anothertwistafate had seven timed workouts at San Luis Rey in Oct. and Nov. before the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap race Nov. 28 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Count Again won that race, Next Shares finished third, Anothertwistafate took fourth place and crossed the finish line a length in back of Next Shares and 2 1/2 lengths behind Count Again, and Bowies Hero had the fifth-place finish and trailed Anothertwistafate by three-quarters of a length and Count Again by 3 1/4 lengths.

The Seabiscuit Handicap was the first Southern California race for Anothertwistafate since his debut, and the San Gabriel Stakes was his first Santa Anita race since he began his career there.

Bob and Jackie trained at San Luis Rey during the first part of 2020 before Baltas shipped him to tracks where racing was held. Next Shares was at San Luis Rey both in 2019 and 2020 before preceding Santa Anita and Del Mar races with contests and training in Kentucky. Multiplier, who ran in the 2017 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes prior to being transferred to Miller's stables, returned to San Luis Rey in Dec. after summer and fall races in Kentucky and West Virginia merited training in the Eastern Time Zone. Bowies Hero was at San Luis Rey for the first part of 2019.

The San Gabriel Stakes gave Miller and Rosario two stakes victories for the weekend. The Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes race Jan. 1 was a 6 1/2-furlong turf race for horses four years old and upward. Hembree won his first race for Miller, completing the course in 1:13.80 and finishing three-quarters of a length in front of second-place True Valour.

Miller also won the Joe Hernandez Stakes in 2020, when the race was 5 1/2 furlongs, with Texas Wedge. Texas Wedge also ran in this year's Joe Hernandez Stakes and finished fourth. The race also included Blitzkrieg and Wildman Jack, who are trained by Doug O'Neill and were at San Luis Rey in 2019.

This year's Joe Hernandez Stakes had seven horses. Texas Wedge and Prat, who was also Texas Wedge's jockey in last year's Joe Hernandez Stakes, broke first. True Valor and jockey Drayden Van Dyke left the gate second. Wildman Jack and Cedillo broke third, Blitzkrieg and rider Victor Espinoza were fifth out of the gate, and Hembree and Rosario broke last.

P R Radio Star, who is trained by D'Amato but not at San Luis Rey, led after a quarter of a mile. Wildman Jack was second, half a length in back of P R Radio Star and a head in front of Texas Wedge. True Valor trailed Texas Wedge by half a length while leading fifth-place Blitzkrieg by a length. Hembree was in seventh, 6 1/2 lengths behind P R Radio Star and four lengths in back of sixth-place Chaos Theory.

Half a mile into the race P R Radio Star was still in the lead and half a length in front of Wildman Jack. Blitzkrieg had moved into third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Wildman Jack and a head in front of Texas Wedge. Texas Wedge held a one-length lead over fifth-place True Valor. Hembree remained in seventh and last place, although only four lengths in back of P R Radio Star and half a length behind Chaos Theory.

Blitzkrieg had the lead when he entered the stretch 1:07.95 after the race began. True Valor was in second, a head behind Blitzkrieg and a head in front of Wildman Jack. Hembree and Rosario had moved into fourth, half a length in back of Wildman Jack and a head in front of P R Radio Star. Texas Wedge was in sixth, trailing P R Radio Star by a length and leading Chaos Theory by half a length.

Rosario took Hembree to the inside to obtain the lead. Blitzkrieg finished third, 3 1/4 lengths behind True Valour and four lengths in the back of Hembree. Texas Wedge crossed the finish line half a length in back of Blitzkrieg and half a length in front of Chaos Theory, who edged Wildman Jack for fifth place by a neck. Wildman Jack was 2 1/4 lengths ahead of P R Radio Star.

Hembree was owned by Three Diamonds Ranch prior to being entered in an optional claiming race November 19 at Churchill Downs and being available for $62,500. Hembree won that race but was taken at the claim box by Tom Kagele, who transferred the horse to Miller. Hembree relocated from Louisville to Bonsall in Dec. and his first timed workout at San Luis Rey was on Dec. 24.

The $120,000 first-place share of the total purse paid for the claiming price. Hembree, who won his eighth race in 40 starts, increased his career earnings to $927,371. Hembree was foaled in Kentucky on March 28, 2014, and sired by Proud Citizen out of Knockatrina.