Captain Scotty captures Palos Verdes

ARCADIA, CA – Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber’s Captain Scotty fought gamely with Flagstaff late but ultimately came out on top to capture Saturday’s $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

Breaking from post 2 under Abel Cedillo at 7/2 odds, Captain Scotty immediately asserted himself on the front end before posting fractions of :22.39 and :45.22. Flagstaff and rider Victor Espinoza kept closest watch in the scratch-shortened field of four.

Still in command along the inside as he rounded the far turn onto the front stretch, Captain Scotty began feeling heat from Flagstaff but dug in gamely to fight back. Fighting hard and refusing to yield, Captain Scotty won the battle by a neck in a final time of 1:09.46 for the 6-furlong sprint over the fast main track.

The other two runners were spread out far behind the top pair, with Speed Pass finishing third and Grinning Tiger fourth to complete the order of finish. Ax Man and St. Joe Bay were both scratched.

Captain Scotty’s win was his first at the stakes level and improved his overall mark to 13-4-4-2. The 6-year-old gelded son of Quality Road, privately purchased after his maiden-breaking debut effort in late 2017, has earned $321,095 to date.

Captain Scotty returned $9.80 to win and $3 to place, while Flagstaff brought back $2.20 to place. There was no show betting.