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Joe Naiman
Village News Reporter
In his first California race, San Luis Rey Training Center gelding Viking Plunder took first place in a photo finish.
Viking Plunder made his California debut Aug. 5 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The second race that day was a one-mile turf competition for 3-year-olds and upward who started for a claiming price of no more than $16,000 in 2021. Viking Plunder and jockey Trevor McCarthy were sixth halfway through the race but finished a nose in front of second-place Tom's Surprise.
"Real good run," said Paula Capestro, who is both Viking Plunder's trainer and the horse's co-owner along with Craig Kastle.
Heinz Steinmann bred Viking Plunder in California, where he was foaled on May 3, 2017. Viking Plunder was sired by Creative Cause out of Kissmeimdanish. Steinmann also owned Viking Plunder before Capestro and Kastle claimed him at an April 25 race at the Gulfstream Park track in Hallandale, Florida.
"I was high on this horse ever since we got him. He just needed to have some good training," Capestro said.
Viking Plunder had trained at the Palm Meadows Training Center in the Florida town of Boynton Beach prior to being claimed. The deficiency wasn't in his previous trainer but rather in the climate. "It's so hot in Florida, so when they come here they tend to benefit from our cooler weather and the program that we have here," Capestro said. "He put on weight and his energy level came up and he started training like a good horse."
Eight of Viking Plunder's first nine races were at Gulfstream Park with the exception being a July 2020 competition at Indiana Grand Race Course in Shelbyville. "He had never run in Southern California even though he's a Cal-bred," Capestro said.
The April 25 race at Gulfstream Park was Viking Plunder's first career win. "There's a lot of good racing in Florida," Capestro said.
The claiming price April 25 was $16,000. "He was good on the grass. And he was a Cal-bred. He fit our goals for the Ship & Win program," Capestro said.
Del Mar's Ship & Win program provides incentives for horses brought to the track from other states. The horse must not have raced in California for the previous 12 months and must have run his or her most recent race outside of California (first-time starters are not eligible). The program pays $4,000 for the initial start at Del Mar.
A bonus for horses collecting a share of the purse for placing first through fifth increases that share by 50% for dirt races and 40% for turf races, and those bonuses are for both the first start and any subsequent starts at the meet (that bonus does not apply to stakes races although the $4,000 starting bonus does).
"I just think that he's a good addition to Southern California, and I hope to bring more," Capestro said. "My goal is to bring horses here to Southern California."
Capestro chose McCarthy as Viking Plunder's jockey. "He knows how to ride these turf races," Capestro said. "I thought he was perfect for the horse."
Derek Lawson is McCarthy's jockey agent. Capestro included Lawson in the input prior to pre-race instructions. "Trevor and myself and Derek Lawson worked together," Capestro said.
Tom's Surprise and jockey Jose Valdivia broke first among the eight horses in the race. Viking Plunder and McCarthy broke fifth.
"Trevor rode him as good as possible considering that rail wasn't going to open up," Capestro said. "We lost about three or four lengths just getting out."
Valdivia held Tom's Surprise back in the beginning, and Mountain Spirit had the lead after the first quarter of a mile while Tom's Surprise was third a length and a half in back of Mountain Spirit. Viking Plunder was fifth after the first two furlongs, trailing Mountain Spirit by 4 1/2 lengths and fourth-place Mahi Mahi by one length while leading sixth-place Respect the Hustle by half a length.
The margin gave McCarthy room to maneuver his horse. "He kept him back a little bit out of trouble. He did a good job keeping him out of trouble," Capestro said.
Mountain Spirit would lead until the stretch. McCarthy and Viking Plunder dropped back to sixth, although half a mile into the race they trailed Mountain Spirit by 2 3/4 lengths. Valdivia and Tom's Surprise dropped back to fifth, a length in front of Viking Plunder. Respect the Hustle was seventh, half a length behind Viking Plunder.
Big Bad Gary fell back to sixth over the next two furlongs. Three-quarters of a mile from the starting gate Viking Plunder was fifth, 2 1/4 lengths in back of Mountain Spirit and half a length behind fourth-place Indy Jones. Viking Plunder led Big Bad Gary by a head.
Respect the Hustle had moved up to third by the completion of the first six furlongs. Viking Plunder overtook Respect the Hustle and Indy Jones as the horses approached the stretch. At the start of the stretch Viking Plunder was third, half a length in back of Tom's Surprise and one length behind Mountain Spirit. Respect the Hustle was fourth and trailed Viking Plunder by 2 1/2 lengths.
"I knew I had a lot of horse," Capestro said.
The photo finish confirmed that Viking Plunder finished ahead of Tom's Surprise. "It was tight, no doubt," Capestro said.
Viking Plunder had a winning time of 1:36.23.
"It was a rewarding end to a big effort by a lot of people," Capestro said.
The total purse for the race prior to any bonuses was $35,000, so the first place share not including bonuses was $21,000. The race also had Cal-bred bonuses, so Viking Plunder earned the first-place share of that as well as the Ship & Win first-time starter bonus and the purse enhancement.
"It ended up making it a pretty big purse. It was a dream situation, really," Capestro said.
Capestro expects a 1 1/16-mile turf race Aug. 28 at Del Mar to be Viking Plunder's next start. She plans to keep him at California tracks. "Everything I'm bringing here I want to stay here. I really want to support California racing," she said.
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