Newgrange rewards new connections with San Pasqual score

Although he looked beaten turning for home, Phil D’Amato’s Newgrange surged when called up and took Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita by one length over favored Hopper. Ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, Newgrange got 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.97.

With Hopper and Parnelli battling on the front end, Newgrange went up to challenge Hopper as the field turned up the backside. Leaving the half-mile pole, Parnelli took up the chase and with a quarter-mile to run, Newgrange found himself shuffled back and about two lengths off Hopper, but Hernandez sat chilly with an ace to play.

“Turning for home, he was lugging in a little bit, but when he straightened up, he gave me another gear and got the job done.”

A two-time graded stakes winner early last year at age 3, Newgrange was idle since finishing third in the Native Diver Stakes (G3) on Nov. 27 at Del Mar. Off at 4-1 in a field of nine older horses, Newgrange paid $10.40, $4.00 and $3.60.

“I was confident at the three-eighths pole, I was definitely not confident at the quarter pole, but I just kind of saw Juan stay with him and reengage,” said D’Amato. “This horse does this in some of his races, he likes to kind of disengage at the three-eighths pole and then come back on.

“He did that last time. I told Juan this horse is probably going to do that and don’t give up, just stay with him. He did that and he got the job done.”

Originally trained by Bob Baffert but sold privately after his fourth start, a sixth-place finish in last year’s Rebel Stakes (G2) on Feb. 26, Newgrange is owned by David Bernsen, Little Red Feather Racing and Rockingham Ranch.

In his fourth start for D’Amato, Newgrange, a 4-year-old colt by Violence out of the Empire Maker mare Bella Chianti, picked up his third graded-stakes victory while improving his overall mark to 8: 5-0-2. With the winner’s share of $120,000, he increased his earnings to $747,334.

Trained by Baffert and ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Hopper, idle since winning the Affirmed Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita on June 11 of last year, was off at 7-5 and paid $3.20 and $2.80.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Parnelli pressed the pace issue throughout and finished just a head behind Hopper. Off at 18-1, Parnelli paid $7.20 to show.

Fractions on the San Pasqual were 22.67 and 47.36 seconds, 1:11.49 and 1:36.70.