Plate Side holds off unlucky Family Code at Los Alamitos

Plate Side, the 2-1 second choice in a field of seven, made a successful transition to dirt, holding off an unlucky Family Code to win the $46,690 feature Thursday at Los Alamitos.

A 3-year-old gelded son of Square Eddie and the Boston Harbor mare Teresa Ann, Plate Side tracked the quick pace set by Rim Ditch, rallied outside to take over in midstretch and went on to prevail by a half-length under jockey Mario Gutierrez.

Owned by breeder J. Paul and Zillah Reddam’s Reddam Racing LLC and trained by Doug O’Neill , Plate Side completed the 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.07 while winning for the second time in six starts. He paid $6.40, $3.40 and $2.60 and increased his earnings to $79,570.

Family Code, who was making his first start since last Nov. 24 at Del Mar and who has done his best running when on or near the lead, broke very slowly under jockey Brayan Pena, but finished with a flourish and wound up 1 ¾ lengths clear of the rest of the field. He returned $4.40 and $2.60 as the 4-1 third choice.

The stewards reviewed Family Code’s start to determine if he should have been declared a non-starter, but ruled the 4-year-old gelding caused his own problems at the gate.

Getoffmyback, who was seeking his second win of the Los Angeles County Fair meet for owner Gary Barber and trainer Peter Miller after defeating $12,500 claimers Sept. 7, checked in third. The show price on the 7-5 favorite was $2.20.

Odin, I B Mike, Tiznobodiesfool and Rim Ditch completed the order of finish.

Earlier in the afternoon, jockey Martin Pedroza, the all-time leading thoroughbred rider at Los Alamitos, picked up his 100th win at the track when 5-1 shot El Super edged Chris and Dave by a head after the two geldings battled for virtually the entire eight furlongs in the fifth race.

Pedroza’s victory total includes the Orange County Fair meets offered at Los Alamitos from 1977-1991.

There will be a Pick Six carryover of $13,879  when racing resumes Friday, the midway point of the 12-day Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos.

The primary catalysts for the third carryover of the meet were Anamontana, who paid $27.40 in wiring five rivals in the third race, and 8-1 shot Bargaining, who edged 9-1 outsider Cat From Iraq in the sixth.

Post time Friday is 2 p.m. The Pick Six will begin in the third race, which has a scheduled post time of 2:58 p.m.