GIANT EXPECTATIONS TORCHES FIELD IN GRADE II, $300,000 SAN ANTONIO STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

Giant Expectations; All photos by Zoe Metz

GIANT EXPECTATIONS TAKES ON ROLE OF GIANT KILLER AS HE TORCHES FIELD BY 3 ¼ LENGTHS AT 13-1 IN GRADE II, $300,000 SAN ANTONIO STAKES; TRAINED BY EURTON & RIDDEN BY STEVENS, HE GETS 1 1/16 MILES IN 1:43.07

ARCADIA, Calif. (Dec. 26, 2017)—Hold the presses. Bob Baffert’s Collected, considered by many to be the second-best horse in America and a likely starter in next month’s Grade I, $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park, was nowhere to be found at the finish of Tuesday’s Grade II, $300,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita.

Run for the first time in its 81-year history on opening day, the San Antonio was taken by the longest shot in a field of five—the Peter Eurton-trained Giant Expectations, who coasted to an emphatic 3 ¼ length win while covering a mile and one sixteenth in 1:43.07.

The ageless Stevens, who has committed to riding at Oaklawn Park after Jan. 1, appeared to make an easy lead and held sway by about a length leaving the quarter pole over a hard-ridden Prime Attraction and Accelerate, neither of whom could get on terms with the winner who was well beaten at 25-1 in his most recent start, the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3.

Winless in two previous starts at the San Antonio distance, Giant Expectations paid $29.00, $8.20 and $3.20.

A 4-year-old New York-bred colt by Frost Giant, Giant Expectations is owned by Border Racing, LLC, Gatto Racing, LLC and Zubok. A winner of the seven furlong, Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes three starts back on Aug. 26, Giant Expectations notched his fourth win from 13 overall starts and with the winner’s share of $180,000, he increased his earnings to 449,200.

Off at 8-1 under Javier Castellano, Accelerate finished a neck in front of Collected and paid $7.00 and $2.80.

Last early, Collected was never a factor for the win and finished a half length in front of Hoppertunity. Ridden by Mike Smith, Collected was off at 1-5 and paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race, all set by the winner, were 24.69, 49.19, 1:12.94 and 1:36.84.

Note: The win marked Stevens’ second-ever win in the San Antonio, as he won it for the first time with Point Given in 2001.

SAN ANTONIO STAKES QUOTES
GRADE II, $300,000

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARY STEVENS, GIANT EXPECTATIONS, WINNER: “It looked like we were going to see a sub-23 first quarter, and we covered the first quarter in 24 and change and the half at almost 50, and the race was pretty much over. He’s got a great turn of foot the last quarter mile, and it was a lot of fun.

“He’s a really good colt. I don’t think people knew how good his Breeders’ Cup race was – he absolutely got left at the start, and he didn’t like the dirt getting kicked in his face. He was really the only horse that closed any ground at all that day. He’s come back and worked brilliant. I haven’t sat on him since the Breeders’ Cup. I was pleasantly surprised at the opening fractions – I thought I was going to have to use him pretty good, but my plan was to put him on the lead or close to it. I just didn’t want to have dirt in his face. I had a big smile on my face going around the first turn – the race was won going into that first turn.”

MIKE SMITH, COLLECTED, THIRD: “It was a bad ride. It was my fault. I slipped leaving the gate. We should have been on the lead. Then they were going too slow and we couldn’t get there in the end.”

TRAINER QUOTES

PETER EURTON, GIANT EXPECTATIONS, WINNER: Asked if he was surprised to be on the lead: “When I saw 49 and change (for a half mile) I wasn’t surprised at that point, because he is a very fast horse. You can see that by the way he works, but he needs to get out of the gate, which he did today.
He was a little tight but he (Gary Stevens) kind of sent him away from there and the next thing you it was 24 (24.69) for the quarter mile) and 49 (49.19 for the half) and it was game over. He’s just an amazing horse who needs his kind of race.

“I don’t know (what race might be next) I’m just going to enjoy this. We’re not nominated to anything.”

BOB BAFFERT, COLLECTED, THIRD, AND HOPPERTUNITY, FOURTH: “We (Collected) should have been on the lead and the other horse (Hoppertunity) was too close.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Exline-Border Racing LLC, Gatto Racing LLC or Zubek.

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