PHOTOS BY SHANE MICHELI//VASSAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Gold Rush Weekend
KMN Racing’s I’m So Anna scored a popular victory in the Campanile Stakes at Golden Gate
SUCCESS OFF THE TURF CAL-BREDS SHINE ON GOLDEN GATE’S TAPETA BY JACK SHINAR
L
ong overdue storms hit Golden Gate Fields April 25, drenching the fnal day of the annual Gold Rush Weekend—the biggest stakes bonanza of the year at the San Francisco Bay Area track.
With less than half of its normal rainfall this year, the parched region surely needed the precipitation. But the rain had its drawbacks, keeping all but the hardi22
est fans away from the recently reopened grandstand and washing six scheduled races of the slick turf. Golden Gate, with its reliably consistent Tapeta main track, kept its mostly large felds intact. Tere was only one scratch on the program due to the surface switch. Of the turf came a pair of one-mile black-type stakes events for 3-year-old California-bred and California-sired horses, the Campanile for fllies and the Silky Sullivan for colts and geldings. Kevin and Kimberly Nish’s KMN Racing had the strong 6-5 favorite I’m So Anna in the $76,800 Campanile. Te imposing dark bay daughter of Fast Anna defnitely looked the part leading the feld
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED ❙ June 2021 ❙ www.ctba.com
of nine fllies to the starting gate. Departing from the rail, leading Golden Gate jockey Kyle Frey surprised some when he gunned I’m So Anna to the early lead over expected pacesetter and second choice Squared Shady. I’m So Anna held her position along the inside while maintaining at least a length’s advantage over Squared Shady through solid quarter-mile fractions of :22.84, :46.75, and 1:11.11. Squared Shady mounted a challenge leaving the far turn, but I’m So Anna was up to the task under slight urging from Frey and drew clear for a 2 1⁄2-length triumph, her third in 10 lifetime starts and second stakes victory. She also won the Pike Place Dancer Stakes as a 2-year-old on the Golden Gate turf last Halloween. Amazen Grazen rallied for second in the Campanile, while Squared Shady tired to third. Te fnal time was 1:36.93. “We were really concerned when they reached the stretch considering the (fast) fractions,” said Kevin Nish, who said the couple watched the race on TVG from Florida, where they now make their home. “But when we saw no one coming from behind, we felt better. When your horse wins, you’re always excited.” Te Nishes bred I’m So Anna from the winning Jet West mare So So Fast, a Calbred who is part of a broodmare band they have assembled in Kentucky, Kevin Nish said. Her sire, 10-year-old Fast Anna, stood at Tree Chimneys Farm in Kentucky but died in February as the result of laminitis. I’m So Anna was foaled at Pete and Evelyn Parrella’s Legacy Ranch, located in the San Joaquin Valley near Clements, making her eligible for state-bred races under California breeding rules. Te Nishes are part of a syndicate standing the stallion Straight Fire, runner-up in the 2016 Del Mar Futurity (G1), at Legacy. Te Nishes began their breeding operation about a decade ago after experiencing early success in the racing business in owner partnerships with the 2012-13 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner Mizdirection, as well as 2013 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile champion Shared Belief. Trained by Steve Sherman, I’m So Anna had made her past three starts at Santa Anita, most recently getting up for third
