Pass Rush Enjoys Visit, Wins San Fernando Stakes

Some wines travel well, some don’t, and it’s the same with horses. One of the best at being shipped around is Pass Rush, who took time from his busy road schedule to drop in at Santa Anita on Saturday for a 3 1/2-length win in the $219,600 San Fernando Stakes.

Arriving at Santa Anita from Florida on Wednesday, Pass Rush had two mornings to familiarize himself with the track, then outfooted seven local horses for his first graded stakes win. Pass Rush, who paid $9.20 as the fourth choice in the Grade II San Fernando, has been a steady colt wherever he has run. The 4-year-old Indiana-bred has run at nine tracks in nine states while posting five wins, five seconds and one third in 15 starts. Saturday’s $131,760 payday boosted his earnings to $376,120.

Owned by Michael Tabor, Pass Rush is trained by Patrick Byrne, who remained in Florida while his wife, Jill, and assistant, Kevin Willey, were deputized at Santa Anita. Byrne had never started a horse at Santa Anita, but across town, at Hollywood Park, his Favorite Trick and Countess Diana won both of the Breeders’ Cup races for 2-year-olds in 1997. Favorite Trick was voted horse of the year, becoming the first 2-year-old to win the title since Secretariat 25 years before.

“They had a race at Gulfstream Park for this horse, the same kind of conditions, but it was only an allowance,” Willey said. “This horse has been training at Palm Meadows, and many of the horses there have been winning at Gulfstream. We thought he might like this track, and he just skipped over it.”

Palm Meadows is the 304-acre training facility in Boynton Beach, Fla., that was opened by Frank Stronach, the owner of Santa Anita and Gulfstream, in December.

“They’ve got a terrific 1 1/8-mile dirt track there, and it’s as wide as Belmont Park,” Jill Byrne said. “It’s one of the most beautiful facilities I’ve ever seen.”

Tracemark finished second in the 1 1/16-mile San Fernando, a half-length in front of Tizbud, the 3-1 favorite. Pass Rush, ridden by Corey Nakatani for the first time, reached the wire in 1:42 1/5.

Although Pass Rush is scheduled to be flown back to Florida on Monday, he may return to Santa Anita for the $400,000 Strub on Feb. 1. One of the probables in the Strub is Medaglia d’Oro, who hasn’t run since his second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 26.

“Medaglia d’Oro is a nice horse,” Byrne said, “but we might have a chance against him since he’s running fresh.”

Tizbud, a brother of two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Tiznow, had a rough trip in his first stakes start.

“I got bumped on the first turn,” jockey Victor Espinoza said, “and then at the three-eighths pole [Traditional] wanted to get out, and hit me pretty hard. But he never quit, he kept fighting and fighting.”

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Earlier Saturday, Tates Creek won the $150,000 San Gorgonio Handicap by three-quarters of a length over her stablemate, Megahertz, as Bobby Frankel became the first trainer to run 1-2 in the grass stake since Jerry Fanning with Miss Alto and Top Corsage in 1988.

For Tates Creek, it was her third consecutive stakes win and ninth victory in 13 starts. The 5-year-old mare, bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, gave Frankel his sixth San Gorgonio win.

Tates Creek was a well-bet favorite who paid $3.80. Frankel, who has another barn deep in talent, said that she has earned a rest. Last year, Tates Creek earned $661,512, helping the Frankel outfit total a near-record $17.7 million.

“I’m in a spot to have an even better year,” Frankel said. “At least going in, I’ve got a better group of horses than I started with a year ago. But you never know if they’ll stay healthy. I’ve got an especially good group of fillies, for both the dirt and grass.”

Riding Tates Creek for the first time, Pat Valenzuela notched his fourth stakes win of the 14-day-old meet.

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Standard Setter, a 17-1 shot, established a big early lead under Roberto Gonzalez and beat favored Ozzie Cat by a neck in the $100,000 Golden Gate Derby. On a muddy track, Pine For Java finished third and Spensive, who had trouble with the surface, was fourth.... Favored Hero’s Tribute ran fourth as Windsor Castle, at 9-2, won the $100,000 Hal’s Hope Stakes at Gulfstream.... For the second consecutive year, Zonk won the Affectionately Handicap at Aqueduct.