Bonfante wins the bob in San Simeon

Frankfurt Stables and Eugene Tenbrink's homebred BONFANTE (Fruition) rode the

rail to a game nose victory in the $103,488

San Simeon H. at Santa Anita on Saturday.

The gelding, who was the 6-1 longest shot on the board, completed the 6 1/2-furlong race in 1:14 2/5 and paid $14.20 and $4.60 for trainer Ron McAnally and

jockey Aaron Gryder.

Battle Won (Honour and Glory) broke best and led the four-horse field for the

opening half-mile through fractions of :22 2/5 and :45. Turning for home, all

four competitors lined up at the head of the stretch, but the ground-saving Bonfante did best in the end. Battle Won, the 2-1 third choice,

took second and was good for $4 while completing the $23.60 exacta ($1). Sire Lure (Joyeux Danseur) loomed boldly on

the final turn but hung late, finishing 3 1/2 lengths behind as the 8-5

favorite. Turnbolt (Deputy Minister) was another neck back. The winning trifecta

($1) paid $38.70, and the 2-8-9-4 superfecta ($1) was worth $35.80.

Originally scheduled for the Hillside Turf Course, the race was automatically

downgraded from Grade 3 to listed status, pending a review by the American

Graded Stakes Committee, when it was switched to the main track, which brought about the scratches of Billy Allen

(Ire) (Night Shift), Soul City Slew (Slew City Slew), Vega's Lord (Ger) (Lord of

Men), Get Funky (Straight Man) and Salty Humor (Distorted Humor). 

Bonfante earned his seventh career stakes win with this tally, boosting his

bankroll to $473,817. The bay captured the California Turf Sprint Championship

H. most recently for his second consecutive win in that event, and sports a

lifetime mark of 23-10-2-3.

The California-bred was produced from the unraced Tahoma Cat (Mountain Cat).