California Wine Stakes preview

Alameda County Fair Stakes Preview

By Dennis Miller

The Pleasanton race track has a long history of being a speed-friendly track which makes it very interesting when there is a stakes race with a field full of speed.

Such will be the case Saturday at the Alameda County Fair with the running of the California Wine, a $50,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

The questions are who is the speed of the speed and is there a horse that can come from off the pace and run the down the pace-setters.

The answers: Marks Mine and maybe.

Marks Mine is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williams and is trained by Steve Specht. Sandwiched in between fellow speed demons Tribal Gal and Special Summer, Marks Mine will break from post No. 2 for jockey Frank Alvarado.

The horse has won only once in four starts this year, but has faced some pretty stiff competition. After winning a $50,000 optional claimer at Santa Anita in January, she came back with a solid third in the $300,000 California Breeders’ Challenge, finishing behind Qiaona and Unusual Way.

After that she stretched out to 1-<1/16> miles in the $53,000 California Oaks at Golden Gate Fields and finished second after setting the pace throughout. Finally in her last start she started in the $200,000 Evening Jewel at Santa Anita in late March, finishing a badly beaten ninth.

Specht sent Marks Mine to the bench for a break and she has responded with some sharp works for her return Saturday. The horse should be the speed of the speed and have the lead at the top of the lane.

From there it would appear the horse with the best chance to catch her is Let Faith Arise out of the Jerry Hollendorfer barn. Russell Baze will have the ride on a horse that is perfectly suited to sit off a front end duel and run them down in the lane.

The winner in three of her five starts, Let Faith Arise is owned by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds and always has plenty left in the lane, but whether that will be enough in Pleasanton remains to be seen.

She’s a Tiger debuts

While the California Wine Stakes is the big race of the day, there’s a lot of anticipation for the 4th,, a $26,000 maiden special weight race.

She’s a Tiger, the sister to Grade I winning Smiling Tiger, makes her debut for trainer Jeff Bonde and owners Mark DeDomenico and Allen Aldrich. There has been a ton of steam about the horse coming out of the morning workouts and four bullet-works over the Pleasanton track back up the hype.

Frank Alvarado draws the riding assignment for Bonde.

Steve Sherman sends out another first timer in When I’m Calling U and sends out Russell Baze as the jockey.