Melatonin Adds Gr.1 Gold Cup Win to Resume

It was a hot but perfect day at Santa Anita Park for the 16,331 that attended on June 25th to watch post time favorite and Santa Anita Handicap winner Melatonin headline a field of eight in the $500,000 Gr.1 Santa Anita Gold Cup. The bay gelding proved he was up to the task, joining the likes of Affirmed, Lava Man and Game on Dude as he galloped to a 1 ½ length victory in this year’s rendition of the 1 ¼ mile contest. Part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, Melatonin ensured a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to be held November 5th.

The race developed well for jockey Joe Talamo, who was aboard Melatonin. The duo sat second tracking pacesetter Lieutenant Colonel through fractions of 23.83, 47.70, and 1:11.48 for the first six furlongs. As the field reached the midway point on the far turn, jockey Martin Garcia was asking Lieutenant Colonel for more as Melatonin patiently waited for his cue. The son of Kodiak Kowboy was asked to go as 24-1 longshot Win the Space ranged up three-wide into the stretch to challenge. Melatonin was up for the challenge, kicking clear in the final sixteenth of a mile to win in 1:59.79. Win the Space, piloted by Gary Stevens, held second over last year’s Gold Cup winner Hard Aces and jockey Santiago Gonzalez in third.

Trainer David Hofmans is no stranger to the national stage in horse racing; he trained Touch Gold to deny Silver Charm a Triple Crown and Alphabet Soup to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Woodbine over Cigar. Despite those accomplishments, David Hofmans was elated with his victory in the Gold Cup.

“The emotions were pretty high,” said Hofmans. “I’m normally low key, but today I was really nervous. It was his big test today. I thought there were some quality horses in here that he had to beat in order to think about going [forward to bigger things]. The difference is that today he validated himself. Any horse can beat any horse, on any given day. But to do it again, and maybe even again, then you start thinking.”

Winning jockey Joe Talamo believes the gelding’s ability to relax early helped in getting the 1 ¼ mile distance despite his pedigree suggesting otherwise. “He’s not a horse that grabs the bit much, but he relaxed really well, two, three deep today. Especially going distances like this, you don’t see horses coming from too far back. That helps him, the fact that he can inherit the lead whenever he wants to.”

Saturday’s victory puts Melatonin’s career earnings over the $1 million and his record now reads 13-5-3-3. Winning owner Susan Osborne (races as Tarabilla Farms Inc) of Glendale, CA, along with the rest of the gelding’s connections, now looks forward to a match-up with Kentucky Derby winners California Chrome and Nyquist in the $6 Million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

By: Christopher Ado