Cistron, Bound For Nowhere clash in Santa Anita's San Simeon

A pair of top-class sprinters, John Sadler’s Grade 1-winning Cistron and Wesley Ward’s Kentucky-based Bound for Nowhere, come off extended layoffs as they head a field of seven older horses in the Grade 3, $100,000 San Simeon at 5 ½ furlongs on turf this Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

Originally scheduled to be run this past Saturday, the San Simeon will be contested for the 53rd time.

An impressive winner of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes going six furlongs on dirt July 27 at Del Mar, 6-year-old Cistron, who was a close second in last year’s San Simeon, which was run at 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course, looms strictly the horse to beat in what will be his 28th career start.

The leading money earner in the field, Grade 2 stakes-winning Bound for Nowhere, idle since demolishing a tough allowance field at seven furlongs on turf Oct. 25 at Belmont Park, has been supplemented to Saturday’s race by owner/trainer Wesley Ward and will be ridden by popular Puerto Rican veteran Julio Garcia.

A recent allowance winner over the course, Doug O’Neill’s French-bred Murad Khan fits nicely as does Peter Miller’s Surrender Now.  The lone distaffer in the field, Surrender Now, idle since Aug. 4, might be the quickest of the quick, while Linda Rice’s Grade 1 winning eastern invader Voodoo Song lends considerable depth to a competitive lineup.

Idle since taking last summer’s Bing Crosby in gate to wire fashion, Cistron, a 6-year-old full horse by The Factor, has trained well for his return and has impeccable credentials, with three stakes wins to his credit from an overall mark of 27: 5-7-6. With an overall turf record of 19: 2-6-5, Cistron is well positioned as the horse to beat on Saturday.

A lightly raced 6-year-old full horse by The Factor, Bound for Nowhere, idle since cruising to a  4 ¼ length victory in a third condition allowance last October at Belmont Park, has trained in impressive fashion for Ward at Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky, as he has six consecutive bullet moves on his tab, the most recent a five furlong drill in 59.20 on Monday, the best of five at the distance over a synthetic surface.

A Grade 2 winner at age 4, he has six wins from 12 starts and earnings of $844,857. Although he hasn’t ridden at Santa Anita in some time, the veteran Garcia is well know to Southern California racing fans and has guided Bound for Nowhere to five of his six wins.

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 12:30 p.m.  Due to local, state and national health concerns regarding the Coronavirus, there is no public admittance to Santa Anita Park.