CAPTURE THE SEA EMERGES VICTORIOUS IN PREVIEW OF $50,000 FINAL

        The 1,000-yard allowance main event on Sunday night provided a thrilling preview of what’s to come on November 27 in the $50,000 final at this distance at Los Alamitos.

          Sunday’s headliner featured four out of the top five-point getters in the standings to the $50,000 final and six out of the top 12. It turned out to be a blockbuster of a race with Dan Wells’ Capture The Sea ending the winning streaks of Oh Jerry and Castle Gate thanks to a brilliant ride by Diego Herrera for trainer Matt Fales, who had claimed the Uncaptured gelding for $6,250 four races ago.

          Leaving the gate from post number seven in the nine-horse field, Herrera hustled Capture The Sea in the backstretch to find a perfect stalking spot along the rail. Meanwhile Oh Jerry, who entered this race having won eight straight races, had to deal with Hot N’Famous in battle for the lead and then with the challenge of both Capture The Sea and Castle Gate down the stretch. In the final 100 yards, Capture The Sea pulled away and held off Castle Gate, who also finished strongly to cross the wire ahead of Oh Jerry for second place.

          Winning the race by a half-length, Capture The Sea earned $11,825 to take him from 10^th place in the standings to fourth place with 41,130 points with less than a month to go before the final night to earn points arrives on November 22. Each point equals a dollar earned in races at either 1,000 or 870 yards here.  

          “The race had a big feel to it,” Fales said. “In the paddock, I was saying ‘this feels like a big race with all the top (horses) in here.’ I can’t say enough about Diego and his ride on the horse. He saved ground and really rode the horse nice. Oh Jerry hasn’t run in a while. We had a race in between the last showdown between us. My horse had a lot more air tonight. I know we have our work cut out for us in the final. I know Oh Jerry and Castle Gate will come ready.”

          Trained by Sergio Morfin for Joel S. Diaz, Joel O. Diaz and Jesus Quintero, Castle Gate earned $4,850 for running second with Edgar Payeras up on the way to moving to the top spot in the standing with 46,452 points. The runner-up effort stopped Castle Gate’s four-race win streak.  

          William Hedrick’s Oh Jerry earned $2,538 for running third and moved from the top spot in the standings to second place with 44,313.

          The other horses high in the standings in this race were Silverwind, who went from third in the standings to sixth; Price Ali who slid from fifth to eighth; and Run Factor, who went from 12^th to 14^th.

          Here are the top 10 in the standings. Asterisk indicates filly or mare. The night of November 27 will also feature a $30,000 race for fillies and mares and a $30,000 event for the next highest placed horses not in the other two lucrative 1,000-yard races.

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