SIERRA SWEETIE HEADS STRONG FIELD OF
FILLIES IN SATURDAY’S CALIFORNIA BC OAKS
Sierra Sweetie will be gunning for her fourth career stakes victory Saturday when she faces eight rivals in the $100,000 California Breeders’ Cup Oaks at Golden Gate Fields.
Sierra Sweetie, a gray daughter of Old Topper, will make her 2006 debut in the Oaks, a 1 1/16 miles contest for 3-year-old fillies. Trained by Jeff Bonde, Sierra Sweetie enjoyed a fine 2005 campaign in which she won the Generous Portion Stakes at Del Mar, the Carmel Stakes at Bay Meadows, and the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Santa Anita.
Sierra Sweetie is a California-bred who is owned in partnership by Peter Braugh, Jeff Shields and George Schmitt, et al. Sierra Sweetie has never been worse than second in six career starts and enters the Oaks with $235,400 in earnings.
Sierra Sweetie will be ridden in the Oaks by the hot apprentice Martin Garcia, who earned his first career stakes victory last Saturday with Somethinaboutlaura in the $75,000 Foster City Handicap at Bay Meadows.
Sierra Sweetie is the 5-to-2 morning-line favorite in the Oaks, the eighth race on Saturday’s nine-race program.
The field for the Oaks, in post position order, is as follows: Zoemeg, Chad Schvaneveldt rides at 116 pounds, 10-1; Political Web, Kerwin John, 116, 12-1; Sierra Sweetie, Garcia, 122, 5-2; Private World, Chance Rollins, 120, 3-1; Princess Kinzie,
Frank Alvarado, 116, 15-1; Crystal Event, Russell Baze, 116, 6-1; Cross, Michael Baze,
122, 10-1; Seam Seeker, Joe Castro, 122, 5-1; and Bai and Bai, Roberto Gonzalez, 122,
8-1.
The Oaks is first of eight stakes worth $100,000 or more that Golden Gate Fields will present during the 2006 spring meeting, which runs through Sunday, May 7.
Post time Saturday is 12:50 p.m. and fans attending Golden Gate Fields will receive a free GGF sweatshirt.