The 11-10 favorite, Danthebluegrassman paid $4.20, $3, and $2.20 for the win. Cappuchino returned $5.60 and $4.20 and completed the $1 exacta worth $11.50. U S S Tinosa paid $3.40.Danthebluegrassman earned $68,750 for the win, his third in six career starts. Joseph J. Steiner rode the Bob Baffert trainee to victory. Danthebluegrassman was bred in Kentucky by Ledgelands Farm LLC and sold for $85,000 as a yearling. (Chart, Equibase)
Mike Pegram's Danthebluegrassman pressed the pace, dueled with Cappuchino through the stretch, and won a head bob at the wire to earn a victory in Saturday's $125,000 Golden Gate Derby. The 3-year-old son of Pioneering completed the 1 1/16-mile Golden Gate Fields feature in 1:43.87 on a track labeled "good.""I really like this horse," Pegram said. "We've already got him nominated to the Triple Crown. He's a real battler and he has really impressed me, especially going around two turns." The top three finishers from last months Gold Rush Stakes filled the trifecta spots again, with Cappuchino finishing second in the Golden Gate Derby after coming home third in the one-mile Gold Rush. U S S Tinosa finished three lengths behind Danthebluegrassman when second in his final juvenile race. Saturday he finished third, a nose and 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner. Yougottawanna, Cruising Kat and Cable Ready completed the order of finish.