Western Pride Can Be Proud of This

A terror in Florida, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia as a 3-year-old, Western Pride has now proven himself in California.

After a battle through some brutal fractions with 8-1 shot Orientate for most of the race, the son of Way West prevailed in the end, winning the $214,200 San Fernando Breeders’ Cup Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Trained by Jim Chapman for his mother, Carolyn Chapman, and Theresa McArthur, Western Pride won for the ninth time in 19 starts, defeating Orientate by a length in 1:411/5 for the 11/16 miles.

Although he doesn’t deserve the term “great” his trainer used in reference to him afterward, the Florida-bred certainly earned his win Saturday under top weight of 122 pounds.

Ridden for the first time by Garrett Gomez, who became the 10th jockey to climb aboard the dark bay colt, Western Pride picked up his seventh victory in 15 races on the dirt and stamped himself a strong contender for the $400,000 Strub Stakes on Feb. 2.

“He’s never got any credit for what he has done,” Chapman said. “They’ll know who he is now.”

If anybody had slighted Western Pride--and the fact he was the 9-2 third choice in a Grade II race indicated there wasn’t a lack of respect--it was because he had done most of his winning at places not considered among the elite tracks in America, such as Mountaineer Park, Thistledown and Calder.

Fourth in the Hollywood Derby in his initial start in California on Nov. 25, Western Pride was ready to ramble Saturday, even though his trainer insisted the San Fernando was merely a prep for the Strub, where he’ll have a date with impressive Malibu Stakes winner Mizzen Mast.

“He was maybe 75%-80% ready,” Chapman said. “His next race will be his best race. Garrett rode him well and he kept going.”

After his first experience with the colt, who was purchased by Chapman for $65,000 as a 2-year-old, Gomez is looking forward to another collaboration.

“Jim told me to let him run his own race, not to change anything,” Gomez said. “I just let him do what he needed to do. When it came time to running, he put his heart out there. He’s a real game horse.”

Breaking from the outside in a field reduced to 10 after I Love Silver was scratched due to a minor illness, Orientate either set or pressed 221/5, 444/5, 1:084/5 and 1:342/5 fractions before weakening ever so slightly near the finish.

“He ran great,” jockey Chris McCarron said of the runner-up, who is trained by Wayne Lukas for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis. “I can’t believe he hung in there as well as he did after going that fast.”

Fancy As, the 4-1 third choice, finished third in his first race in California. A winner of 13 of 15 in Canada, the gelding finished three lengths behind Orientate and will return in the Strub for trainer Bob Baffert.

The disappointment in the San Fernando was Momentum. The 11-10 favorite on the strength of his victory over Euchre in his main track debut last month at Hollywood Park, the son of Nureyev was well-placed down the backside by jockey Corey Nakatani, but had nothing to give in the stretch. He wound up fifth.

“I missed a work with him and I don’t think that helped things,” trainer Craig Dollase said. “I thought they would come back off that hot pace, but it never developed. I was really excited there for a while.

“But he got a race over the track and we’ll get a mile and an eighth in the Strub. We’ll hope for the best next time.”

All Sir Bear needed was a return to Gulfstream Park.

The 9-year-old gelding, who had lost six in a row and had finished last in his most recent start on Oct. 27, rallied in the final furlongs to edge even-money favorite Red Bullet in the $100,000 Skip Away Handicap.

Owned by Barbara Smollin and trained by Ralph Ziadie, Sir Bear earned his sixth victory in 13 starts at Gulfstream Park, winning by a half-length under jockey Edgar Prado in 1:434/5 for the 11/16 miles.

“For him to do that at his age, he’s just a phenomenon, one of a kind,” Ziadie said. “He loves this track. He’s unbelievable.”

Seeking only his second win since he surprised Fusaichi Pegasus in the 2000 Preakness, Red Bullet had to settle for the runner-up spot. He was a half-length better than Hal’s Hope, the 5-1 second choice in the prep for next month’s Donn Handicap.