Finnegans Wake Takes Aim in San Luis Rey

Perfection is rare around the race track, but Victor Espinoza and Finnegans Wake are an exception.

The jockey and the horse are four for four, and heavily favored to extend their string to five in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 San Luis Rey Stakes for older horses at 1 ½ miles on turf.

“The distance should be no problem,” said Espinoza, who has registered three straight wins in Grade II races on the 6-year-old Powercourt horse trained by Peter Miller for Donegal Racing and Rockingham Ranch. “He’s doing good right now and in his last few races, he’s been going in the right direction.”

Finnegans Wake doesn’t waste much energy with his come-from-behind style. He won the Hollywood Turf Cup and the San Gabriel Stakes by a neck and a length, respectively, then also took the San Marcos by a length on Feb. 7.

In the Grade III Arlington Handicap last July, Espinoza piloted Finnegans Wake to a head victory in their first get-together.

“He’s a hard-trying horse,” said Espinoza, the regular rider of both Kentucky Derby favorite American Pharoah and Horse of the Year California Chrome, who already is in the Middle East for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 28.

“Finnegans Wake will run anywhere, inside, outside, and that’s good for me, because I’m not afraid to place him anywhere for his stretch run. I like those kinds of horses. He doesn’t mind. He just likes to run.”

The field for the San Luis Rey: Raise Your Gaze, Tyler Baze, 12-1; Play Hard to Get, Kent Desormeaux, 6-1; Diamond Bachelor, Martin Pedroza, 10-1; Power Foot, Flavien Prat, 4-1; Buymeabond, Iggy Puglisi, 20-1; Joes Blazing Aaron, Joe Talamo, 6-1; Fly Lexis Fly, Edwin Maldonado, 20-1; Finnegans Wake, Victor Espinoza, 6-5; and Ashleyluvssugar, Gary Stevens, 9-2.

Several Santa Anita-based jockeys will participate in Santa Anita’s annual Derby Day 5K Walk and Run on Saturday, April 4. A traditional prelude to the 78th running of the Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby later in the day, the Derby Day 5K will start at 8 a.m.

“We’re going to have more jockeys participating than ever before,” said veteran rider Aaron Gryder, who was born in nearby West Covina and has more than 3,600 wins in a career dating back to 1987.

“We’re all out here to have fun, but I think the number of jocks participating is a pretty good indicator that we all are living healthier and are much more committed to fitness than maybe we were 20 or 30 years ago.”

The jockeys, with their probable odds of winning provided by Santa Anita morning line maker Jon White follows:

Saul Arias, 15-1; Cheryl Charlton, 15-1; Victor Espinoza, 12-1; Omar Figueroa, 6-1; Santiago Gonzalez, 15-1; Aaron Gryder, 10-1; Modesto Linares, 12-1; Edwin Maldonado, 12-1; Bryan Pena, 15-1; Tiago Pereira, 12-1; Iggy Puglisi, 15-1; Alex Solis, 10-1; Joe Steiner, 12-1; Kayla Star, 15-1; Elvis Trujillo, 8-1; and Drayden Van Dyke, 8-1.

All runners will begin their 5K journey in Santa Anita’s parking lot area that adjoins the Westfield Santa Anita Mall. After running north on Baldwin Ave., the course angles west into the Los Angeles County Arboretum for a scenic loop. The runners will then head east across Baldwin Ave. for a short tour of Santa Anita’s stable area en route to the track’s Infield tunnel which takes them to a quarter-mile finish on Santa Anita’s inner training track.

Adults and children of all ages are encouraged to participate and may register online at www.kinaneevents.com. Derby Day 5K walk-up registration will be available from today, March 20, through April 2 at Run With Us, located at 235 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena.

Those wishing to register the day before the event can do so on April 3 at the Promenade at Westfield Santa Anita from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Race day registration will be available in the Santa Anita parking lot, next to the 5K starting line, beginning at 6:30 a.m.

For more information on the Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Run and Walk, please visit santaanita.com/events or call (626) 574-RACE.