San Rafael Victory for Conveyance
The San Rafael Stakes is a Grade 3 event for three year old racehorses, and covers a distance of one mile. Many horsemen flock to this event, held at the Santa Anita Racecourse, as it is a preparation race for those campaigning for the prestigious Triple Crown series. This wonderful event has been won by a number of great athletes in previous years, such as Tobasco Cat, El Gato Malo and The Pamplemousse. At this year’s meeting, Conveyance added his name to the distinguished list.
On Saturday, 16 January 2009, a group of deserving contenders entered the starting gates of the 2010 San Rafael Stakes. Conveyance, recently bought by Sheikh Rashid Zabeel Racing, was ridden by Garrett Gomez and is trained by Bob Baffert. The magnificent Indian Charlie progeny took an early lead and managed to retain his lead to the end. Running in the San Rafael Stakes, as preparation for the Santa Anita Derby, was seen as good experience for the rising star. Gomez commented that it was a very slow paced race, and even though Conveyance did start to tire towards the end, enough effort was put in throughout the duration of the race for the duo to sail to a two length victory. “I came off the fence going down the backside and I decided to leave it open going into the far turn because I didn’t want my horse to be down on top of the fence with another horse pressing me”, Gomez explained his strategy after the race.
Trainer Bob Baffert also seemed pleased with the win, commenting: “I thought he was good enough to win this without working him too far and he was. It was a nice effort and he wasn’t blowing that hard when he came back.” Cardiff Giant followed Conveyance home in second place, with Domonation crossing the finish line in third, Lucky Rave in fourth and Via Verde in fifth position. Walking away from the San Rafael Stakes with his unbeaten record in place, Baffert has not decided where this spectacular athlete will compete next, but from his past performances it is sure to be a breathtaking racing event.
