NEWS
Spring House repeats in San Luis Obispo
Posted: Sunday, February 22, 2009 7:26 PM
SPRING HOUSE
Benoit & Associates photo
by Mike Curry
Spring House darted through an opening between horses and shook free to a repeat victory in the $150,000 San Luis Obispo Handicap (G2) on Sunday at Santa Anita Park.
Trained by Julio Canani for owner R. D. Hubbard, the seven-year-old Chester House gelding halted a four-race winless stretch with the half-length San Luis Obispo score. He joined Great Communicator (1988-‘89) as the only back-to-back winners of the San Luis Obispo.
Spring House defeated Church Service by 2 3/4 lengths to win the 2008 San Luis Obispo, and this year the 1 1/2-mile race felt eerily familiar.
Kris Silver established an honest pace with French Group 1 winner Zambezi Sun (GB) stalking keenly from second in his United States debut under Garrett Gomez. Spring House was reserved in sixth then fifth by Alex Solis, and Church Service raced in tenth while Kris Silver set the tempo through a half-mile in :48.84 and six furlongs in 1:14.18.
Zambezi Sun moved forward to challenge Kris Silver approaching the stretch but had difficulty negotiating the turn and flattened out in the stretch. Solis guided Spring House through an opening between Kris Silver and Zambezi Sun in early stretch and he accelerated willingly to take command en route to a victory in 2:27.26 on firm turf.
"I learned quite a bit about him the last two times I rode him, but Julio has been working with him and in his last few works he's figured out what he needed. He's always had a lot of class,” said Solis, who was rode Spring House to fourth-place finishes in the Native Diver Handicap (G3) and San Marcos Stakes (G2) in his previous two starts.
“Today, he was on the bit the whole way and when that hole opened up in the stretch, he went through it like a bullet.”
Church Service edged third-place finisher Attempted Humor by a half-length. Zambezi Sun faded to sixth as the 9-to-10 favorite.
Sent off at 6.60-to-1 odds, Spring House improved to eight wins in 38 career starts and boosted his bankroll to $838,284. He is out of Group 2 winner Spring Star (Brz), by Itajara.
“He had trouble breathing, and I was thinking of giving him an operation, but I changed my mind,” Canani said. “I checked with three different veterinarians and I decided just to put a figure eight [nose band] on him, and it worked out."
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
