The seven-year-old cash cow trained by Val Brinkerhoff returned to Santa Anita yesterday after being turned out at Sunshine Ranch in Bradbury following his eventful third-place finish at 40-1 in the Bad Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

“He needed a rest,” said Brinkerhoff of the $65,000 gelded son of Hold Me Back who earned $90,000 for his third behind front-running Life Is Good and runner-up Ginobili. “He ran his guts out for us last year, as he aways does.”

Restrainedvengence ran his guts out in the Dirt Mile despite a slow start and a four-wide trip under Edwin Maldonado.

“He ran 55 feet further than any horse in the race,” Val said. “That's probably about six lengths right there. He wasn't going to beat the winner, but he could have been second (beaten only three-quarters of a length by Ginobili, who earned $170,000, almost double that of the $90,000 for third).”

Restrainedvengence won his first graded stakes when he captured the Grade 3 American at Santa Anita last June 20, and won the Downs Albuquerque Handicap at Sunland Park in New Mexico last Sept. 18 for the second straight year, this time by a nose, again wasting no margin for victory.

He won by a head in 2020.

Restrainedvengence has 10 wins from 35 starts with career earnings of just over a million, at $1,007,682.

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“I had a perfect trip,” Ortiz said. “He broke out of there running, he relaxed for me. I wasn't worried about those other runners early in the race, because I knew he was so fast. When we got to the quarter pole, he re-broke for me. What a nice horse to ride.”

The Todd Pletcher-trained colt more than lived up to his 3-5 odds: The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief simply ran his rivals into the ground, grabbing the lead at the start and dominating the race throughout to clock a final time of 1:34.12 over Del Mar's fast main track. He defeated his closest rival, Ginobili (4-1), by 5 3/4 lengths, while Restrainedvengence (40-1) checked in third.

“We were hoping for that, expecting that based on the way that he's been training, but it's always great to see it actually happen,” said Pletcher. “He took it to them. Just too much horse.”

The win is Pletcher's second in the Dirt Mile, following a victory with Liam's Map in 2015, and the Hall of Fame conditioner's 12th Breeders' Cup victory overall. It was Ortiz's third Breeders' Cup win of 2021, and his 14th overall.

Previously trained by the embattled Bob Baffert, Life is Good was moved across the country to Pletcher's barn after an injury took him off the Kentucky Derby trail in March. He returned in late August to run second to Jackie's Warrior in the G1 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Saratoga, then got back in the winner's circle with an easy romp in the G2 Kelso on Sept. 25.

Though the pair of Japanese-trained entrants, Pingxiang and Jasper Prince, were both expected to show early speed, Ortiz sent Life Is Good hard out of the starting gates and made the lead before the clubhouse turn. Under mild pressure from Eight Rings, Life Is Good set fractions of :21.88 and :44.94 with his ears pricked, making it look easy.

Eight Rings dropped back a bit around the far turn as Ginobili took up the challenge on his outside. Life Is Good maintained an advantage of just over a length as he ticked off six furlongs in 1:08.96, then simply out-ran his rivals down the stretch. Ginobili kept on well to maintain second, hitting the wire 5 3/4 lengths behind the winner, while Restrainedvengence closed from the rear of the field to finish three-quarters of a length back in third. Eight Rings held on to be fourth, while Silver State was fifth.

Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West, Life Is Good is out of the placed Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk. He was a $525,000 purchase at the Keeneland September sale, and was sent to Baffert's barn in Southern California for the early part of his career. Life Is Good won impressively on debut in late November at Del Mar, then won the G3 Sham and the G2 San Felipe before his injury.

With a second and two more wins to his name since his transfer to Pletcher's care, Life Is Good has amassed a total of five wins from six starts with earnings of $1,059,200.

Quotes from other connections:

Trainer Richard Baltas (Ginobili, second) – “We just ran into a better horse. We got a great trip and it looked around the turn that we were making a move and we're going to win it, but Life Is Good kicked clear. I mean, I'm pretty happy. I would be happier if we'd had won it, but Ginobili ran a great race.”

Jockey Drayden Van Dyke (Ginobili, second) – “With how fast they we were going, I thought it was going to set up perfectly for us. But the winner had another gear when we got to him but I am super happy with Ginobili. It was the kind of trip that we wanted and we got it. We were just second best today.”

Trainer Val Brinkerhoff (Restrainedvengence, third) – “He ran very good. We kind of got away bad. We thought we would be back, but not that far. I think if we had a little bit better start we might have gotten second. I don't think we would have beaten the winner. He ran a heck of a race.”

Jockey Edwin Maldonado (Restrainedvengence, third) – “My horse ran well and I'm happy we ran third. The winner was just too good.”

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“The Mile (on turf) is too tough with the likes of Mo Forza, and the Dirt Mile is coming up light, so that's where we're going,” said Brinkerhoff, who has had Restrainedvengence since Day One, running the 6-year-old gelded son of Hold Me Back on turf, dirt, synthetic, in sprints and routes from coast to coast.

In 34 career starts, Restrainedvengence has 10 wins, four seconds and three thirds with earnings of $917,682. He worked four furlongs Friday in 50 seconds flat.

“It was an easy breeze,” said Brinkerhoff, who celebrates his 65th birthday next Tuesday, Oct. 19. “He'll have one more here before we go to Del Mar.”

Edwin Maldonado, who piloted Restrainedvengence to a courageous nose victory as the 13-10 favorite in the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap on Sept. 18, will be back aboard in the Dirt Mile. Restrainedvengence won the same race last year by a head under Ruben Fuentes.

Restrainedvengence may be a cut below racing's A-List Thoroughbreds, but on the track he's all race horse. Anyone who doubts that should watch a replay of his victory in New Mexico.

Winning the Breeders' Cup would be a fitting fairytale finale.

“The Breeders' Cup is a big step,” Brinkerhoff allowed, “but we might not get another chance.”

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With longshot Sash gunning from his outside post, Neptune's Storm tracked him while second by 1 ½ lengths as Restrainedvengence sat third by a similar margin around the Club House turn. Heading to the quarter pole, it appeared Neptune's Storm, ridden by Flavien Prat, had matters in hand as he reeled in Sash and took charge turning for home.

But Restrainedvengence had plenty left to say, as he wheeled three-deep at the top of the lane while about two lengths off the lead and gradually gained the ascendency inside the sixteenth pole to win going away.

“First of all, I'm most thankful to have Tyler stick with the horse because I haven't been able to get anyone to stick with my horse,” said Brinkerhoff, who purchased the horse for $65,000 as a Keeneland September Yearling. “He likes him and he's come to know him, to win a graded stakes at Santa Anita for me, is just the best thing that ever happened for a long time.

“When I first got him and broke him, I mean he's been a handful, but you love him because he's so good. He's just hard to deal with, when he wants to do something, I just give up and let him do it, and then we go back and start over. I think his attitude has made him be a champion because he wants to do what he wants to do and he loves to run.”

A Kentucky-bred by the Giant's Causeway stallion Hold Me Back, Restrainedvengence, who was most recently third in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile here on May 31, was off at 3-1 in a field of six 3-year-olds and up and paid $8.80, $3.60 and $2.60.

“He always tries,” said Baze. “We kind of figured out a couple of things with him a couple of races ago and he was real primed to run a huge race today. I won on him before in New Mexico and I had the chance to get back on him this year. He's done nothing but try hard and just been a great horse for Val.”

Owned by Val Brinkerhoff's wife Kelly and Bob Grayson, Jr., Restrainedvengence, who is out of the Red Ransom mare Cupids Revenge, now has a total of seven stakes wins and an overall mark of 31-9-4-3. With the winner's share of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $768,182.

Idle since Sept. 7 and in his first start for Peter Miller, Neptune's Storm appeared to have a perfect trip but couldn't go with the winner late. Off at 4-5, he paid $2.60 and $2.20 while finishing a half-length in front of an on-rushing Tiz Plus.

Ridden by Trevor McCarthy and a first-time gelding today, Tiz Plus was off at 17-1 and rallied well for third money as he returned $3.20 to show.

Fractions for the American Stakes were :22.91, :45.88, 1:09.34, and 1:21.64.

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Brinkerhoff, 64, said he was transported to the hospital because he takes blood thinners and doctors wanted to be sure he hadn't suffered internal bleeding. He was diagnosed with a cracked elbow, broken finger, and separated shoulder.

“I was more worried about my horse,” Brinkerhoff told drf.com. “He just don't like that needle. When he blows up, you might as well forget it.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Claimed for $62,500 out of a one turn mile win two starts back on Nov. 19 at Churchill Downs, Hembree rallied for an authoritative three quarter length score going 6 ½ furlongs on turf in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes here on Jan. 1. Trained by Peter Miller, Hembree, a two-time graded winner, is a full horse by Proud Citizen, out of the Langfuhr mare Knockatrina.

With lifetime earnings of $927,371, Hembree, who will be ridden back by Joel Rosario, is 40-8-10-8 overall, dating back to his first-out maiden win at Saratoga at age two in August of 2016.

Miller's “Avis Choice” is Sombeyay, who comes off a front-running 1 ¼ lengths allowance win on Jan. 15 as the 4-5 favorite under Flavien Prat, who appears to have opted for Border Town. Originally trained by Todd Pletcher, Sombeyay will be making his third start for Miller as he seeks his third graded stakes win. Owned by Swifty Farms, Inc., Sombeyay, a 5-year-old horse by Into Mischief, is 15-4-5-0 overall and will be ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez.

Trained by Richard Mandella, Border Town comes off what appeared to be his best career race on Jan. 8, as he rallied from off the pace to take a one mile allowance by half a length under regular rider Prat. Owned by Ramona Bass and Perry Bass III, Border Town, a 5-year-old gelding by War Front, seeks his first graded stakes win in what will be his 12th start.

Trainer Dan Blacker's comebacking Hit the Road, who seeks his third consecutive win, lends further depth to the Thunder Road party. Idle since taking the restricted Oceanside Stakes at one mile on turf July 10 at Del Mar, Hit the Road was also a minor stakes winner going a mile on grass at Santa Anita in his third career start on Oct. 6, 2019. Owned by D K Racing, LLC and Radley Equine, Inc., Hit the Road, a 4-year-old colt by More Than Ready, would relish a fast pace to run at with regular rider Umberto Rispoli up.

THE GRADE 3 THUNDER ROAD, WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 10 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

1. Sombeyay—Juan Hernandez—122
2. Hit the Road—Umberto Rispoli—122
3. Restrainedvengence—Ruben Fuentes—122
4. Border Town—Flavien Prat—124
5. Campaign—Tyler Baze—122
6. Award Winner—Abel Cedillo—120
7. Bob and Jackie—Heriberto Figueroa—122
8. Hembree—Joel Rosario—120

Early first post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com.

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“The City of Hope is a short field and he came out of his race super-good, never lost any weight and never missed a meal,” said Brinkerhoff, a former jockey who rode at the bush tracks in the northwest before becoming one of the hardest-working horsemen in the game just over a dozen years ago.

Brinkerhoff, who turns 64 on Oct. 19, still gallops his own horses.

“I think getting the horse there took more out of him than the race itself,” said Val, whose wife and dedicated assistant, Kelly, and Bobby Grayson Jr. own the five-year-old gelded son of Hold Me Back, who has an 8-3-1 record from 25 starts with earnings of $625,222. He was second by a head in the City of Hope last year.

“I missed some training on him here but he ran good enough to win despite being bumped through the stretch. He should be fit now because I missed a bunch of time after I ran him at Golden Gate (in the Grade III San Francisco Mile June 14) because of a foot issue, then I missed time because of the smoke from the fires here, but he's fine now.

“He's won stakes on three different surfaces: Tapeta, dirt and turf, so he's very versatile.” While he's never won a graded stakes, the Kentucky-bred has competed in 12 straight added money races and earned Beyer speed figures of 100 or more in three of them.

The City of Hope, race eight of 10 with a 12:30 p.m. first post time: Sharp Samurai, Juan Hernandez, 5-2; Restrainedvengence, Ruben Fuentes, 8-1; Majestic Eagle, Ricardo Gonzalez, 20-1; Royal Ship, Mike Smith, 4-1; Bob and Jackie, Heriberto Figueroa, 12-1; Blitzkrieg, Abel Cedillo, 4-1; and Mo Forza, Flavien Prat, 8-5.

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The 4-year-old colt by top stallion Uncle Mo out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, scored by 4 1/4 lengths under Flavien Prat in the good time of 1:33.27 for the mile and, as the 6-5 favorite, paid $4.40, $3.00 and $2.40 across the board. He is trained by Peter Miller.

This was the 34th running of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and it rewarded its winner with a purse of $90,000, pushing his bankroll to $614,460. The bay has now won five of his 11 starts, four of those victories coming in stakes races, including the Hollywood Derby last fall at Del Mar.

“Peter (trainer Miller) and I talked before the race and we noted that there looked like a lot of speed in the race,” said Prat. “That turned out true. He told me he took his blinkers off and he was hoping for the best. I had a good trip; my horse was relaxed. Then, when I say 'Go,' he had a really strong response.”

“That gave me goose pimples,” said Miller. “I was just hoping I had him tight enough and ready to perform. These were a good group of horses, but he's exceptional. To see this horse back in the winner's circle is really exciting. He had a tendency to get rank in his races last year and wanted to run over horses, so we thought we didn't want that problem this year so we took the blinkers off. He's been working without them and I thought that if it doesn't work out I'm going to look like an idiot, but thank goodness it worked out. We think the Breeders' Cup will definitely be the end of the year with one race in between.”

Bardy Farm is the nom du course for former trainer and breeder Barry Abrams, who raced horses for many years with great success on the Southern California circuit. He is home battling cancer these days but this horse – who Abrams also bred – had to pick his head up for sure. His partner in the colt is Onofrio Pecoraro of San Diego.

Finishing second in the feature was Kelly Brinkerhoff and Bog Grayson, Jr.'s Restrainedvengence and third was Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship.

The riding and training stars of the day were Prat and Miller, who combined to win three races on the 11-race card. Besides Mo Forza they also clicked with Querelle ($4.60) in the 2nd Race and Worthy Turk ($8.20) in the 7th. Prat is now second-leading rider at the meet with 34 wins after 19 days of racing. Miller leads the trainers' list with 18 firsts. Prat has been Del Mar's top rider on three different occasions, while Miller has been the leading conditioner seven times.

The stakes win was the 10th of the meet for rider Prat, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 54 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the third of the meet for trainer Miller, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 32 stakes wins at Del Mar.

Nobody could solve the Pick Six mystery on Sunday resulting in a $89,465 carryover and a $19,171 Jackpot carryover when racing resumes Friday at Del Mar starting at 2 p.m.

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