Straight Up G first, Finneus second in King Glorious Stakes

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

San Luis Rey Training Center colts finished first and second in the King Glorious Stakes race Dec. 12 at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Straight Up G, who is trained by Richard Baltas and was ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez, led for the entire one-mile dirt race for California-bred 2-year-olds and won by a 3 1/2-length margin over Finneus, who is trained by Walther Solis and had Umberto Rispoli for his jockey.

The nine horses in the race included four who train at San Luis Rey. Thirsty Always is also trained by Solis and was with jockey Abel Cedillo. So I'm Told is trained by Edward Freeman and was underneath Mario Gutierrez.

Finneus finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of third-place Fast Draw Munnings. Thirsty Always finished eighth, two lengths behind seventh-place Socal Red and 22 1/4 lengths behind Straight Up G. So I'm Told was the final horse across the finish line and trailed Thirsty Always by a neck.

Gonzalez and Straight Up G broke first. "The horse broke real sharp," Baltas said.

Gutierrez and So I'm Told left the gate fourth. Cedillo and Thirsty Always were the fifth entry out of the gate.

Rispoli and Finneus, who as the No. 1 rider and horse had the post position at the rail, broke eighth. Other jockeys moved inside to minimize distance around the turns. "Riz had to go around to be able to make his run," Solis said.

The first quarter of a mile took Straight Up G 23.99 seconds, and after two furlongs he led Thirsty Always by one length while Thirsty Always was a head in front of third-place Moose Mitchell.So I'm Told held the fourth position, a length behind Moose Mitchell and a head in front of fifth-place Fast Draw Munnings.Finneus was in seventh, 5 1/4 lengths in back of Straight Up G and two lengths behind sixth-place Fowler Blue.

In horse racing, "speed" refers to horses with fast starts who win if they build up enough of a lead to hold off the horses who excel at closing. "We didn't have anybody to go with the 4 horse," Solis said of Straight Up G. "That cost us a little bit of the race."

Baltas and Gonzalez didn't intend for Straight Up G to be the speed, but they had no plans to restrain the colt if he took the lead. "He's just got a lot of natural speed," Baltas said. "In this scenario it worked out."

Gonzalez opted not to take his mount back. "He just kind of sat on him," Baltas said. "He did the right thing."

Straight Up G needed 47.92 seconds to travel the first half of a mile. At that point Moose Mitchell was in second and a head behind Straight Up G while Thirsty Always was in third, a length behind Moose Mitchell and a length in front of fourth-place Fast Draw Munnings. So I'm Told had fallen to sixth, trailing fifth-place Fowler Blue by half a length and Straight Up G by three lengths while leading Finneus by 1 1/2 lengths. Finneus had a half-length lead over eighth-place Divine Feminine.

"He had a couple of challenges," Baltas said of Straight Up G. "I thought he'd be close."

The first five horses remained in those positions over the next two furlongs with Finneus taking over sixth place from So I'm Told. Thirsty Always trailed Straight Up G by 1 1/2 lengths and Moose Mitchell by one length while holding a half-length lead over Fast Draw Munnings. Finneus was 3 1/2 lengths behind Straight Up G and a length in back of fifth-place Fowler Blue while So I'm Told was two lengths behind Finneus and four lengths in front of eighth-place Divine Feminine. Straight Up G completed the first six furlongs in 1:12.30.

Rispoli and Finneus gained ground approaching the stretch and moved into second, entering the stretch four lengths behind Straight Up G and a length in front of third-place Fast Draw Munnings. Thirsty Always dropped back to sixth by the beginning of the stretch while So I'm Told was eighth at that point. Straight Up G reached the stretch 1:24.31 after he left the starting gate.

The winning time for Straight Up G was 1:36.88. "I thought he ran a good race," Baltas said.

Straight Up G made his racing debut Oct. 9 at Santa Anita Park and finished fourth in that 5 1/2-furlong race. Baltas then entered the horse in a Nov. 21 maiden special weight competition at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Straight Up G and Gonzalez won that six-furlong race.

"He came back in three weeks. He ran two turns for the first time," Baltas said of Straight Up G's first stakes race.

"He's a very nice horse," Baltas said. "We have very high hopes for him."

Straight Up G was foaled in Northern California May 7, 2019. He was sired by Straight Fire out of Gidget Girl. The King Glorious Stakes purse including starter bonuses was $102,000, and first place was worth $60,000 to bring Straight Up G's career earnings to $105,660.

Finneus was foaled at Lovacres Ranch in Warner Springs March 24, 2019. His sire is Stay Thirsty and his dam is My Fiona. Finneus now has two wins and three second-place results in seven career races. The $20,000 second-place share of the King Glorious Stakes purse increased Finneus' career earnings to $266,366.

Baltas expects Straight Up G to make his debut as a three-year-old Jan. 15 at Santa Anita Park in the 1 1/16-mile California Cup Derby stakes race for three-year-old California-bred horses. Solis is also targeting the California Cup Derby as the next race for Finneus.