—Feb 10— West Point Thoroughbreds’ Kanthaka drew clear of Nero and Restoring Hope down the stretch to win the $200,345 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita by three-and-a-half lengths.
Jockey Flavien Prat was enthusiastic about the performance. “He gave me a great run and he did everything right,” Prat said. “He broke like a bullet, but then we had quite a lot of speed in front of us. So he sat really nicely behind the speed and made a really nice run around the turn. And after that it was done.”
The seven furlong race was the first start of the year for the Kentucky-bred son of Jimmy Creed, and his owners hinted he is likely to tackle longer distances in the near future.
“This feels great,” said Jeff Lifson of West Point Thoroughbreds. “It never gets old. … He responded well in the stretch and we knew he tries really hard, and he lived up to what we thought he could do. So we’re really happy. We’re hoping he can stretch out. We’ll find that out, but I have a feeling we’ll try two turns and will see how it goes.”
Nero finished second by a nose and was followed by Restoring Hope, Ax Man, All Out Blitz and Majestic Eagle.
Retro Horse Racing Game 