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Restrainedvengence Gets First Graded Stakes Victory In American Stakes

Owner/trainer Val Brinkerhoff's consistent 6-year-old gelding Restrainedvengence kept to his task and overhauled favored Neptune's Storm late to notch his first-ever graded stakes victory, as he took Sunday's $100,000 Grade 3 American Stakes by a half-length at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Tyler Baze, Restrainedvengence got one mile on turf in 1:33.87.

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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Restrainedvengence Seeks Another Stakes Win At Santa Anita

Restrainedvengence has been with the Brinkerhoffs so long he's part of the family.

Although not worthy of Hall of Fame consideration, the old warhorse has more than earned his keep, with a bankroll of $708,182 in this his fifth year of racing, never running where he could be claimed and holding his own in graded stakes company.

He has eight wins, four seconds, and three thirds in 30 starts but no graded victories. He has won on turf, dirt, and synthetic, sprinting at 6½ furlongs and routing at a mile and an eighth, but his niche is going a mile on turf.

Perhaps his best performance was a second by a head in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. on Oct. 5, 2019, although his third in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile last out at Santa Anita on May 31 wasn't too shabby.

Tomorrow, closing day at Santa Anita, the venerable cash cow for trainer Val Brinkerhoff, and his wife and valued assistant, Kelly, who owns the six-year-old gelding along with Bobby Grayson Jr., seems ideally spotted to win the Grade 3 American Stakes for three-year-olds and up at a mile on turf.

“He came out of the Shoemaker really well, ate everything up, breezed four furlongs in :48 flat last Friday, and galloped out nice,” said Brinkerhoff, himself a former jockey who turns 65 on Oct. 19. “He's ready to fire one of his better races, hopefully.

“I thought he ran well in the Shoemaker, but it was a tough spot. He had an accident at the barn that caused me to scratch him a race before the Shoemaker, and that set him back, but I think we've got him as good as we can get him right now.

“This is his best shot to win a graded race, but he's been right there in other graded stakes. Whatever you ask him to do, he tries to do it for you.”

Brinkerhoff, an angular version of John Wayne, cowboy hat and all, but without the swagger, is a hands-on horseman from dawn 'til dusk. He is the patriarch of a cohesive Mormon family that grew even closer 16 years ago after his two younger brothers, Brad, 45, and Todd, 42, died from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a progressive neurological disease that controls voluntary muscle movement, informally known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

At 5′ 10″ and 118 pounds when he rode at bush tracks in Montana and his home state of Utah at outposts with far-flung names like Beaver, Richfield, Marysvale, Kanab, Parowan, Ferron, Payson, and Panguitch, Val started riding when he was 14 in Fillmore, Utah, population circa 2,500.

Restrainedvengence, a Kentucky-bred son of the Giant's Causeway stallion Hold Me Back out of Cupids Revenge, thus his name, has been with Brinkerhoff since he was a yearling.

“I bought him at the Keeneland September sale, had him from day one, broke him and everything,” Brinkerhoff said.

“He was a nice-looking colt when I saw him at the sale, although not fashionably bred, but they kept bidding on him and I think we gave $65,000 for him. The bloodstock agent came running over all excited and said, 'Congratulations! You just bought the most expensive Hold Me Back ever sold!'

“It was pretty funny, but it turned out to be true. I've never had much trouble with the horse, although he's a little bit below the best horses in the country.

“But he's paid his way and I'm sure thankful to have him.”

The American Stakes is race seven: Tiz Plus, Trevor McCarthy, 15-1; Restrainedvengence, Tyler Baze, 5-2; Neptune's Storm, Flavien Prat, 4-5; Border Town, Mike Smith, 5-1; Majestic Eagle, Mario Gutierrez, 5-1; and Sash, Juan Hernandez, 12-1.

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Trainer Val Brinkerhoff Suffers Minor Injuries In Pre-Race Incident With Restrainedvengence

Veteran trainer Val Brinkerhoff suffered minor injuries in a pre-race incident with stable star Restrainedvengence on Saturday, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 6-year-old gelding was entered in the afternoon's G3 Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita Park, but was scratched after he reacted poorly to a pre-race blood draw and sent his trainer to the hospital.

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.”

Del Mar Stewards: Baffert Fined $2,500, Brinkerhoff Handed 45-Day Suspension

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been fined $2,500 by the Del Mar stewards, reports the Daily Racing Form, over Merneith's positive for Dextromethorphan in her second-place finish in the fourth race on July 25.

“A number of my staff were sick with COVID this summer, including Merneith's groom,” Baffert told the Paulick Report after the positive result was made public. “I learned he had been taking over-the-counter cough syrups that contained Dextrorphan. This has been an issue in other states where contamination has lead to positive tests. That's what happened here. This is clearly another case of contamination. Ultimately, this is my responsibility. It's really embarrassing for the barn, but that's what happened. #2020 sucks.”

Del Mar stewards also took action against veteran trainer Val Brinkerhoff, suspending him for 45 days and issuing a $3,000 fine over Girl Can Partie returning a positive for Metaproterenol after winning the seventh race on Aug. 1, 2019. Sunday's ruling stated that the penalty was inclusive of a syringe found in Brinkerhoff's truck, which the trainer told DRF was a precaution for colic while shipping a horse to Emerald Downs, also in August of 2019.