ARCADIA, Calif. -- Wretham, an invader from England, raced to his first stakes victory Sunday by coming from off the pace to capture the $112,700 San Gabriel Handicap on the turf course at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., the 4-year-old lagged next to last until the field of 10 went around the final turn of the 1 1/8-mile race, where he responded quickly to the urging of his rider, gained the lead midway down the stretch and drew out to a 1-length victory.
Patchy Groundfog, ridden by Corey Black, came from the middle of the pack to finish second, while In Extremis under Alex Solis finished third after setting the pace for the first mile.
Wretham was timed in 1:46 1/5 to better the stakes record of 1:46 3/5 set by Geechee Lou in 1961.
The victory was the third stakes win in the first five days of the Santa Anita winter meeting for Pincay, the leading rider at the track last year.
Wretham was sent off at odds of 9-1 by the crowd of 22,5000 to pay $21.80, $10.80 and $7.60. Patchy Groundfog paid $8.80 and $5.60, while In Extremis returned $8.20 for the show.
Wretham is owned by the Relatively Stable of Harold Applebaum and Daniel Feldman of Redondo Beach, Calif. The English-bred colt, a son of Henbit, arrived in the United States last July and scored two victories without trying his speed in a stakes race. Sunday's win was worth $67,700 to boost his career earnings to $151,881.
The San Gabriel was the first stakes race of the meeting on the grass course. Santa Anita offers 23 stakes on the turf, topped by the $500,000 San Juan Capistranto Handicap April 22.
