Pataky Kid Firing Bullets for San Simeon

Pataky Kid has been firing bullets for his Santa Anita debut in Sunday’s Grade III San Simeon Stakes for older horses at about 6 ½ furlongs on the track’s unique downhill turf course.

“He’s doing good,” said trainer Tom Proctor of the Oklahoma-bred son of Rockport Harbor owned by Dana Myers of Seymour, Indiana, who races as Swifty Farms, Inc.

“His races on the grass at Indiana Downs weren’t too bad,” said Proctor, enjoying a solid meet through 64 days with 19 wins from just 67 starters, good for fourth place in the standings with a 28 percent average.

“The horse that beat him (at Indiana Downs last May, Free World) is a pretty good horse. But I think my horse will run good.”

Pataky Kid will be making his first start since last Aug. 30, when he finished fifth under Garrett Gomez in the El Cajon Stakes at one mile on Del Mar’s Polytrack. Of his four most recent workouts, two of them have been bullets, seven furlongs in 1:26 1/5 on March 27 and six furlongs in 1:11 4/5 on March 21.

The San Simeon field: Chips All In, Tyler Baze, 7-2; Pataky Kid, Gary Stevens, 15-1; Chiloquin, Iggy Puglisi, 8-1; Forward March, Aaron Gryder, 15-1; Sweet Swap, Joe Talamo, 3-1; Zimmer, Mike Smith, 6-1; Pure Tactics, Rafael Bejarano, 6-1; Lakerville, Corey Nakatani, 5-2; Handsome Mike, Mario Gutierrez, 20-1; and Artest, Brice Blanc, 15-1.