Soi Phet, Rayya headline Los Alamitos' Saturday stakes
Two-time defending champion Soi Phet will seek his sixth stakes victory at Los Alamitos in Saturday's $75,000 E.B. Johnston.
The one-mile Johnston, which is for 3-year-olds & up bred or sired in California, is part of a stakes doubleheader on the third day of the Los Angeles County Fair meet. Seven 3-year-old fillies will also get together in the $75,000 Beverly J. Lewis at six furlongs.
The Lewis is the eighth of nine races while the Johnston will go as the sixth. Post time Saturday is 1 p.m. PT
Owned by the Viskovich Family Trust, Mathilde Powell and Paul Viskovich and trained by Leonard Powell, Soi Phet won the Johnston by a half-length a year ago, the fourth of his local stakes successes. He added a fifth to his resume with a second score in the July 4 Bertrando, prevailing by a nose during the Summer Thoroughbred Festival to surpass $1 million in career earnings.
From inside out, the field for the E.B. Johnston Stakes: B Squared, Mario Gutierrez rides, 124 pounds; Shades of Victory, Stewart Elliott, 122; Edwards Going Left, Tyler Conner, 124; Touched by Autism, Tiago Pereira, 122; Soi Phet, Alonso Quinonez, 124; Grecian Fire, Geovanni Franco, 124 and El Huerfano, Evin Roman, 124.
Gas Station Sushi, who won the Grade 3 Beaumont on April 8 at Keeneland, and Rayya, winner of the Group 3 UAE Oaks March 1, top a field of seven in the Lewis.
Trained by Richard Baltas for a partnership that includes Riley Racing Stables LLC and Tiger Racing Stable, Gas Station Sushi, an Into Mischief filly out of the Five Star Day mare Five Star Daydream, has been idle since finishing third in the Grade 2 Eight Belles May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Purchased for $240,000 as a 2-year-old, Gas Station Sushi has won twice in three races and earned $145,600. She is proven fresh as she broke her maiden in her debut Aug. 6, 2017 at Del Mar.
Rayya, who is owned by Sheik Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, hasn’t been seen since finishing 13th of 14 in the Kentucky Oaks May 4 at Churchill Downs in her initial try for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. A Tiz Wonderful filly out of the Coronado’s Quest mare Spread, Rayya wasn’t worse than second in five starts in the United Arab Emirates. Before her victory in the UAE Oaks she defeated maidens by 9 ¾ lengths in her career debut last Dec. 7 at Meydan Race Course. She has banked $654,507.
From inside out, the field for the Beverly J. Lewis Stakes: Rayya, Joe Talamo rides, 122 pounds; Wicked Storm, Rafael Bejarano, 120; Broome, Evin Roman, 118; Best of Me, Martin Pedroza, 120, Gas Station Sushi, Mario Gutierrez, 122; Spiced Perfection, Tiago Pereira, 122 and Steph Being Steph, Stewart Elliott, 122.