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Brinkerhoff’s ‘Best Horse’ Restrainedvengence Chasing Graded Win In City Of Hope Mile

Restrainedvengence, the “best horse” Val Brinkerhoff has ever trained, comes back in Saturday's Grade II City of Hope Mile on Santa Anita's turf in just over two weeks from his last race, a game head victory as the 4-5 favorite in the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque, New Mexico over a mile and an eighth on dirt Sept. 19. It was the richest race of the meet.

“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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Sharp Samurai, Mo Forza Face Brazilian Royal Ship In City Of Hope Mile At Santa Anita

Trainer Mark Glatt's venerable 6-year-old gelding Sharp Samurai and Peter Miller's razor sharp 4-year-old colt Mo Forza head a field of seven 3-year-olds and up in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

A winner of the 2018 City of Hope Mile and most recently a solid second on dirt in the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar Aug. 22, Sharp Samurai will also be cutting back in distance a quarter mile, while Mo Forza, a 4-year-old colt by Uncle Mo, comes off a stirring 4 1/4-length win on turf in the G2 Del Mar Mile Handicap Aug. 23.

Along with the top pair, Richard Mandella's promising Brazilian-bred Royal Ship and Val Brinkerhoff's hard knocking Restrainedvengence help make the City of Hope Mile a wide open affair on Saturday.

SHARP SAMURAI
Owner: Red Baron's Barn & Rancho Temescal
Trainer: Mark Glatt
Second, beaten three lengths by Maximum Security in the Pacific Classic, he returns to his preferred surface and retains the services of upstart Juan Hernandez. A huge second, beaten a half length by repeat winner United two starts back on turf in the mile and one eighth G2 Eddie Read Stakes July 26, Sharp Samurai has two seconds and a third from three starts this year and will hope to use the City of Hope Mile as a springboard to a berth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile Nov. 7 at Keeneland. A winner of five out of his nine starts over the Santa Anita lawn, Sharp Samurai is 8-2-2-2 at one mile on grass. With eight wins from 21 overall starts, he has earnings of $981,270 and will be seeking his fifth graded stakes victory.

MO FORZA
Owner: Bardy Farm & OG Boss
Trainer: Peter Miller
Idle since well beaten in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf at Gulfstream Park Jan. 25, Mo Forza came back ready for Miller on Aug. 23, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in taking the G2 Del Mar Handicap. With top jock Flavien Prat set to ride him back, Mo Forza will be bidding for his sixth win from 12 overall starts. Three for five at one mile on turf at Santa Anita, Mo Forza has won five out of his last six starts, including the G1 Hollywood Derby four starts back on Nov. 30. Bred in Kentucky and owned in-part by former trainer Barry Abrams' Bardy Farm, Mo Forza is out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed and is a four-time graded stakes winner with earnings of $614,460.

ROYAL SHIP
Owner: Fox Hill Farms, Inc. & Siena Farm, LLC
Trainer: Richard Mandella
A Group 1 stakes winner two starts back in his native Brazil, this 4-year-old colt by Midshipman lagged far back early and closed with a rush to be third, beaten 4 1/4 lengths in the G2 Del Mar Mile Handicap Aug. 23 and he figures to improve by many in his second start with Mandella. With Mike Smith riding him back, Royal Ship seeks his sixth win from nine overall starts.

RESTRAINEDVENGENCE
Owner: Kelly Brinkerhoff & Bob Grayson, Jr.
Trainer: Val Brinkerhoff

Second, beaten 4 1/4 lengths by Mo Forza two starts back in the Del Mar Mile Handicap, this hard hitting 5-year-old gelding by the Giant's Causeway stallion Hold Me Back comes off a game head victory in a $200,000 stakes going a mile and one eighth on dirt at Albuquerque Downs as the 4-5 favorite on Sept. 19. Second, beaten a head in last year's City of Hope Mile, Restrainedvengence is equally as effective on turf and dirt and will be ridden back by Ruben Fuentes. With eight wins from 25 starts and earnings of $625,222, he seeks his first graded stakes win in his 26^th career start.

G2 CITY OF HOPE MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 10 Approximate post time 12:30 p.m. PT

Sharp Samurai—Juan Hernandez—122
Restrainedvengence—Ruben Fuentes—122
Majestic Eagle—Ricardo Gonzalez—122
Royal Ship—Mike Smith—124
Bob and Jackie—Heriberto Figueroa—122
Blitzkrieg—Abel Cedillo—122
Mo Forza—Flavien Prat–126

First post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12:30 p.m. Santa Anita's races can be viewed live and free of charge at santaanita.com.

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TVG’s Weekend Coverage Features Opening Weekend At Keeneland, Preakness Card

TVG, America's horse racing network and leading ADW platform, will be live on site from coast to coast this weekend featuring the Preakness Stakes undercard from Pimlico, opening weekend at Keeneland and stakes races from Santa Anita. On Sunday, the network will feature international champion Enable as she makes a historic bid for a third victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from Longchamp.

At Keeneland, the track will kick off the 2020 Fall Meet on Friday which will continue through Saturday, October 26. TVG will be live on site with Todd Schrupp, Scott Hazelton, Caleb Keller, Gabby Gaudet and Caton Bredar bringing behind-the-scenes coverage, selections and interviews to viewers. On Friday, there are two Breeders' Cup Challenge races – the $200,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes (GII) and the $350,000 Darley Alcibiades (GI). The winner of the Phoenix Stakes will earn a starting spot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI) and the Alcibiades winner will qualify for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI).

TVG's “Trackside Live” will be simulcast on NBC Sports on Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. In addition to the world class racing from Keeneland, the award-winning network will premier a feature on Jimmy Barnes, the longtime assistant to trainer Bob Baffert who sustained an injury in the paddock with Thousand Words prior to the team winning this year's Kentucky Derby with Authentic. Both horses are entered in Saturday's Preakness Stakes.

At Pimlico on Saturday, the all-stakes twelve race card is anchored by the $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI), the third and final jewel of this year's Triple Crown. TVG's Christina Blacker, Joaquin Jaime and Dave Weaver will be trackside with expert analysis and exclusive interviews covering the undercard leading up to the Preakness Stakes. The undercard includes the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (GIII), a six furlong contest that has drawn a field of eight. The contenders include Landeskog, a four-year-old son of Munnings for trainer Brad Cox who returned off of a layoff to win impressively against allowance company in August at Ellis Park.

On Saturday, Keeneland's star-studded card will feature four Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” races – the $200,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (Filly and Mare Sprint), the $350,000 First Lady Stakes (Filly and Mare Turf), the $400,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (TVG Juvenile) and the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (FanDuel Mile).

The Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held on November 6 and 7 at Keeneland.

The coverage will continue at Santa Anita this weekend with insight, selections and analysis from Mike Joyce, Matt Carothers and Kurt Hoover. The main event on Saturday is the $200,000 City of Hope Mile (GII) which has drawn a field of seven including Peter Miller's Grade 1 winner Mo Forza. The four-year-old colt will have Flavien Prat aboard.

On Sunday, fans of international racing can tune in and watch champion Enable (GB) attempt to make history and win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for the third time. Enable (GB) , trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, won this race in 2017 and 2018 and was second last year. The Juddmonte Farms homebred has amassed a brilliant career since her debut in 2016 featuring 15 wins from 18 starts including a triumph in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf (GI). Despite the defection of the highly regarded filly, Love, trainer Aiden O'Brien will still send out four challengers including Investec Derby (GI) winner Serpentine. International expert Candice Hare will be anchoring the coverage. Post time is approximately 10:05 a.m. ET/7:05 a.m. PT.

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‘Riders Up’ Documentary Showcases North American Sports Bubble At Santa Anita Park

1/ST announced today the television premiere of “Riders Up”, a 30-minute documentary film showcasing Santa Anita Park, and how the company's premier Thoroughbred horse racetrack venue in Southern California successfully created North America's first sports bubble amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The original film, created and shot by the Hennegan Brothers, has been formatted for television and will air on NBCSN on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET. A second airing of the documentary will take place on NBCSN on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET, preceding the live broadcast of the 145th Preakness Stakes on NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET.

“Riders Up” highlights how the horse racing community at Santa Anita Park came together within days of the original coronavirus pandemic lockdown to form a self-contained ecosystem that allowed hundreds of backstretch workers, jockeys and essential racing personnel to keep the horses safe and active while protecting themselves, their livelihoods and the community.

For more information on Santa Anita Park and to watch a preview of “Riders Up” please visit www.santaanita.com or on Facebook @SantaAnitaPark.

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