BY TAMMY A GANTT
Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman’s Florida-bred Speed Boat Beach faces a field of six in the $100,000 Clocker’s Corner for older horses going six furlongs on the turf at Santa Anita Park Sunday.
After finishing up the track eighth in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship presented by Estrella Jalisco on Sept. 28 on dirt, Speed Boat Beach was back in form in his last start. In an allowance optional claimer on turf at Santa Anita on Jan. 23, he led start to finish only to be nipped at the wire earning second a neck behind Gran Oriente (Chi).
The 2023 Florida Horse of the Year, the six-year-old horse has won four races with two seconds in 11 starts with earnings of $519,050. Bred in Florida by Richard Heysek’s Caperlane Farm, Speed Boat Beach is by Bayern out of Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof The Nile.
Speed Boat Beach is a two-time graduate of Ocala Breeders’ Sales. He sold for $200,000 to Three Amigos out of the Really and Truly Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2022 March Sale. Rubin M. Sanchez purchased him for $12,000 as a yearling at the 2021 OBS October Sale out of the Stuart Morris consignment.
Speed Boat Beach faces rival Sumter, who while finishing second, clocked a 115 Equibase speed figure in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez at Santa Anita going about six and a half furlongs on turf on Dec. 29. Sumter has five wins, six seconds, and five thirds in 30 starts for $521,870 in career earnings. The seven-year-old gelding reeled off his last win by four lengths on Oct. 18 in the Lure at Santa Anita in a mile turf outing.
Finishing sixth in the Joe Hernandez in his last start, Yellow Card’s last win came in an allowance claimer at Del Mar on Aug. 23. A month later on Sept. 27, he was second in the Grade 2 Eddie D., a half-length behind Florida-bred Reef Runner.
The rematch from the Joe Hernandez also includes the fifth-place finisher, Sorrento Sky (Ire) and eighth place finisher Flyover. The horse was also third behind Yellow Card in the Eddie D. and third Nov. 30 in the Stormy Liberal at Santa Anita.
Seven-year-old gelding Virat was seventh in the Stormy Liberal last time out. To round out the field, Irish Royalty, a six-year-old gelding, won an allowance claimer for Cal-breds six furlongs on Jan. 15 on the turf at Santa Anita.
Return to the February 7 issue of Wire to Wire
