July 8 2019, Pleasanton, California, USA ~ Pleasanton California hosted two Arabian races, the Wathba Stallion Bonus Bonanza with $11,500 and the Emigrant Stakes with $8,000 in prize money on 6 July 2019.
The first and second place horses in the Wathba Stallion Bonus Bonanza might not have made it to the track except for the fortitude and perseverance of their owners and trainers.
In the Wathba Stallion Bonus Bonanza, Skeedaddle under jockey Francisco Monroy enjoyed a driving win after leading from the turn, followed in second by Sluffy’s Gizmo under Erik McNeil. WMA Fantom ridden by Hugo Herrera was third and fourth was Murphy MHF under David Martin.
Skeedaddle, a five-year-old California home-bred by No Limite out of Skeezitz by Kezoram showed promise in her first few races in 2018 but late in the season became so ill she could barely walk. After many tests she was put on an aggressive treatment for the neurological disease EPM*. The treatment proved successful and a year later she was back in training and now breaking her maiden in her third race of the year at Pleasanton under trainer Terri Eaton.
Winning owner Dorothy Burt will receive Cal Bred incentive award money and joyfully thanked the Sheikh Mansoor Festival for their generous race sponsorship. Awards were presented by Jeannie Wasserman of Pleasanton racing along with Arabian Racing Association of California members and partners of the two racing clubs Mandolynn Hill and Pleasanton Arabian Racing Club. The win time for 5.5 Furlongs was 1:13:66.
Trainer Terri Eaton said, “This filly has been a big challenge in a lot of ways and it has been very rewarding to have her here to show her talent. We want to thank Lara Sawaya and the Sheikh Mansoor Festival for their support for California racing. We very much appreciate it.”
Second place finish Sluffy’s Gizmo had come to owner/trainer David Kaden as unpredictable and hard to ride. An endurance rider, Kaden worked many miles with the mare all winter and has been rewarded with her win in Colorado on 22 June 2019 on her sixth out and a strong finish today.
The first Arabian race on the card, the Emigrant Arabian Stake, was emphatically won by RB Kindle (Burning Sand x Rich Kinkga by TH Richie) ridden for the first time on California tracks by Erik McNeil after two wins in Colorado. RB Kindle is trained by David Kaden for owner Garrett Ford. Veteran competitor Sand Victor ridden by Hugo Herrera for trainer Terri Eaton and owners Betty and Joseph Gillis took second while stablemate Dream Pearl under Francisco Monroy came in third.
The Emigrant Stake was named in honor of the Polish Stallion *Emigrant PASB owned by VO Arabians from Brentwood, California and VO Arabians owner Manny Vierra was in the Winners Circle to present the award. The win time for the 6 Furlongs was 1:17:96.
Race day was a beautiful 85 degrees where the summer crowd on the next to last day of the Alameda Country Fair also enjoyed the rides, the displays, the food and excitement of race day.
Pleasanton Race Day Photo Gallery: https://photos.horsereporter.com/2019-Arabian-Racing/Pleasanton-Arabian-Racing-2019