Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes results
By Dennis Miller
Jerry Hollendorfer picked the right time to make his lone 2-year-old start of the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meet on Saturday.
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Stays In Vegas, a first-time starter for one of California’s leading trainers and the lone 2-year-old to run in Pleasanton this year, got the job done in fine fashion, winning the $50,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes.
Hollendorfer was at Los Alamitos in Southern California with Kentuckian, who finished a distant third in the Los Alamitos Derby and would have probably had a fit when the horse was squeezed at the start and came away last.
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“I had worked the horse a lot so I knew I had a lot of horse,” said jockey Ricky Gonzalez.
Gonzalez quickly got Stays in Vegas back into contention, but too fast to burn the horse out. As they turned for home, Gonzalez hit the gas and the horse pulled away, winning by over six lengths.
Ibelievewewillwin ran second and She’s So Vain was third.
Stock photo courtesy Morguefile
