Gonzalez, Miller Hook Up Again, This Time in Golden State Juvenile

DEL MAR, CA – Jockey Ricardo (“Ricky”) Gonzalez and trainer Peter Miller did the déjà vu all over again thing Saturday at Del Mar, this time winning the $150,000 Golden State Juvenile with J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Good With People. Friday, they had won the $150,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies with September Secret.

Good With People, a colt by the Curlin sire Curlin to Mischief, made the lead in Saturday’s 7-panel sprint soon after the break, then easily made every pole his. He was a geared-down 3/4-length winner, covering the distance in 1:26.10. The homebred picked up a winner’s share of $85,500 for his connections.

Finishing second in the Cal-bred tilt was Winner, Winner and Winner’s Positivity and third was West Point Thoroughbred’s Ascot Storm.

Good With People paid $6.20, $3.60 and $2.80 across the board. Positivity returned $4.60 and $3.20, while Ascot Storm paid $3.00 to show.

Good With People now has won 3 of 5 starts, including an earlier stakes score at Del Mar on September 4 in the I’m Smokin Stakes.

Three jockeys won two races on the eight-race Saturday program that was offered at Del Mar around the nine Breeders’ Cup races televised during the day from Keeneland in Lexington, KY. Abel Cedillo, the 2019 fall riding champ, had a pair to move his meet-leading total to eight after four days of racing. Drayden Van Dyke, the 2018 fall riding kingpin, won his first two races of the meet, and Tyler Baze’s pair of victories moved him into a second-place tie with Mike Smith with four wins.  

Racing resumes at Del Mar Sunday with an eight-race program and a 12:30 p.m. first post.

RICARDO (“RICKY”) GONZALEZ (Good With People, winner) – “I like this, winning stakes. (He had won the Golden State Juvenile Fillies Friday, his first stakes win at Del Mar). This time Peter (trainer Miller, also the trainer of GS Juvenile Fillies winner September Secret) told me: ‘Go to the front and don’t look back.’ I did it and it worked out great.”

PETER MILLER (Good With People, winner) – Trainer Miller was in Kentucky saddling Breeders’ Cup runners and could not be reached by phone.

FRACTIONS:  :22.56  :46.24  1:12.30  1:26.10 

The stakes win was the first in the GS Juvenile for rider Gonzalez, but his second of the meet and second at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first in the GS Juvenile for trainer Miller, but his second of the meet. He now has 37 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are J. Kirk and Judy Robison of El Paso, TX.