Sierra Sweetie Experiences the Taste of Victory Again

No one would label Sierra Sweetie brilliant, but the 2-year-old daughter of Old Topper is definitely consistent.

In six starts for owners Peter Braugh, George Schmitt and Jeff Shields and trainer Jeff Bonde, Sierra Sweetie has finished no worse than second and she earned the biggest of her three victories on Wednesday at Santa Anita.

The 5-1 third choice in the $139,750 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes, Sierra Sweetie -- under new jockey Victor Espinoza -- rolled to a three-length victory over 5-1 shot Unchanged Melody and eight others. She ran the seven furlongs in 1:23.45 over a main track that continues to favor speed.

A rider switch was nothing new for the gray, who was bred by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds. Espinoza, who, according to Bonde, had worked the horse once during the summer at Del Mar, was the fifth jockey the filly has had in her young career. “Everything was good,” said Espinoza, who had two other winners on the card. “I’ve been watching how she runs. I almost got the mount a couple of times before, but it never worked out. I did today and she was easy to ride. Everything went perfect for me.”

Bonde indicated he was planning on sending the filly long again. Sierra Sweeite has had success around two turns. She won the Carmel at a mile on Oct. 9 at Bay Meadows, then was second to Bai And Bai in the California Cup Juvenile Fillies at 1 1/16 miles in her first Santa Anita appearance, Nov. 6. Bai And Bai finished sixth in Wednesday’s race.

Windy, the 19-10 favorite, was off slowly from the rail and finished fifth under Alex Solis.

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Owner Mike Pegram and trainer Bob Baffert teamed to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with Real Quiet in 1998 and they may have a Triple Crown candidate for 2006 in Wanna Runner.

A 2-year-old gelded son of El Corredor, a multiple stakes winner who was trained by Baffert, Wanna Runner is two for two around two turns after winning a $52,000 allowance Wednesday at Santa Anita.

Bred in Canada and purchased for $80,000 as a yearling, Wanna Runner completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.57 for his second win in a row while beating longshot The Five J’s and six others. Espinoza rode the chestnut, who won by 1 3/4 lengths as the 7-2 third choice.

“He’s been a better horse since we gelded him,” Baffert told HRTV after the race. “I was hoping he’d run the way he did today. He’s a very game horse. He showed a lot of grit.”

Ramsgate, the 8-5 favorite, finished seventh.

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Espinoza’s other win Wednesday came aboard the comebacking The Tin Man. A former Grade 1 winner making his first start since Oct. 3, 2004, the 7-year-old Affirmed gelding and 6-1 shot beat pacesetter Captain Squire by a head for his eighth win in 22 outings.

Owned by breeders Ralph and Aury Todd and trained by Richard Mandella, The Tin Man ran the mile on turf in 1:34.32. *

Giacomo, the 2005 Kentucky Derby winner who hasn’t raced since the Belmont Stakes, is set to make his first start as a 4-year-old in the $200,000 San Fernando Breeders’ Cup Stakes on Jan. 14.

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The on-track attendance at Santa Anita for the second day of the winter-spring meet was 8,197 -- 63% over last year.

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Two Sixty Four, a 7-1 shot, scored in his New York debut, going wire-to-wire in winning the $84,875 Alex M. Robb Handicap at Aqueduct. Abel Castellano, Jr. rode the 4-year-old Dance Brightly gelding for owner Arnold Heft and trainer Rodney Jenkins.

Naughty New Yorker finished second, nearly four lengths behind the winner, and Carminooch, the 17-10 favorite, was a nose back in third.

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Ellis Park, the Henderson, Ky., track damaged by a tornado Nov. 6, will conduct its scheduled 36-day race meet next summer.