4th-Santa Anita, $65,000, Alw (NW2$X), Opt. Clm ($62,500), 6-18, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.46, ft, neck.
DR. SCHIVEL (c, 3, Violence–Lil Nugget, by Mining for Money), winner of the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity when last seen at the races last September, made a promising return to action Friday afternoon, taking a six-furlong Santa Anita allowance in good style. Off at odds of 6-5 after touching 4-5 in the latter stages of the wagering, the bay colt was away from the one hole without incident and was settled in third position by Flavien Prat, as Canadian Pride (Creative Cause) set the pace inside of Speed Pass (Bodemeister). Going nicely in hand passing the quarter pole, Dr. Schivel was angled off the fence and into the two path in upper stretch, engaged the front-runner at the furlong grounds and fought his way past in the dying strides in an effort that will likely springboard him back into stakes company in the not-too-distant future. “We've actually been hoping he'd come back and run a race like this in his comeback race. There's a couple races for 3-year-olds at Saratoga in August and we've been planning on getting him back there,” the winning trainer said, referring to the GII Amsterdam S. Aug. 1 and the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. Aug. 28. “That kinda keeps us from stretching him out. There will be a time to stretch him out, but if we can take a shot at a Grade I at the end of August for 3-year-olds, that's gonna be right up his alley.”Formerly trained by Luis Mendez for his breeders William Branch and Arnold Hill, Dr. Schivel soundly defeated heavily favored Spielberg (Union Rags) by 5 3/4 lengths at Del Mar last August. Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal and Dean Reeves, but not Hill, were part of the new ownership group when Dr. Schivel validated 7-5 favoritism in the Futurity, but he was put away for the season thereafter and was having his first start for the Mark Glatt barn Friday afternoon. Lil Nugget, a half-sister to GISW Ultra Blend (Richly Blended), is the dam of Dr. Schivel's 2-year-old half-brother Barsini Red (Midshipman), third in a Cal-bred maiden allowance May 30 for Branch and Hill and Mendez. Sales history:$37,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEEJAN. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-3-1-1, $236,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Red Baron's Barn LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC, William A Branch & William Dean Reeves; B-William A Branch & Arnold R Hill (KY); T-Mark Glatt.
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