Flyover Dominates Sensational Star Stakes with Front-Running Hillside Turf Victory

Sent off at 6-1 against an odds-on favorite with a five-race win streak, Flyover seized the lead on Santa Anita's hillside turf and never gave it back, winning Sunday's $100,000 Sensational Star Stakes for Golden State Series eligibles by three lengths in a time of 1:12.12.

Jockey Antonio Fresu guided the John Sadler-trained gelding through about 6 1/2 furlongs of the hillside turf course, and the race unfolded almost too cleanly. Flyover grabbed the front before the field could pressure him, drew clear, and the outcome was settled long before the wire. The front-running display was the kind of performance that makes Santa Anita's unique downhill turf sprint look like it was designed specifically for horses with early speed and a willingness to stretch that advantage.

Fresu was candid about how effortless the trip felt. "I was surprised that nobody else came with us," the jockey said. "He got the lead pretty easy. I thank John Sadler for the opportunity to get back on him. He's always been very sharp from the gate and John does an amazing job with him because he is a tough horse. John and his team, they know and they do a good job."

Assistant trainer Juan Leyva credited the ride for keeping the horse in his comfort zone rather than forcing the issue. "I think the key was Antonio just used the horse's natural speed instead of sending him out of there," Leyva said. "He just let him take him and the horse was just really enjoying his time out there. I mean he was never pressured and he wasn't fighting him. He just let him be happy on the lead. He's been running in open company, obviously, and today he really showed up and he ran a really good race."

On the Whim finished second. Man O Rose, who entered as the odds-on favorite with a five-race win streak intact, ended up third as that streak came to an abrupt end. Part-owner and breeder Mimi Johnston of Old English Rancho summed up the result in four words: "We beat Man O Rose!"

Johnston was equally emotional about what the win represented for the connections around the horse. "I'm so grateful and thankful that we still have horses like Flyover in training and for the trainers that we have," she said. "It is just wonderful."

Flyover, bred by Old English Rancho and by Om out of the In Excess mare First Class Flyer, now holds five wins from 10 career starts and has pushed his earnings to $239,138. The victory was a significant bounce-back for the horse, who had finished fifth in the Feb. 8 Clocker's Corner just six weeks prior. Owned by Integrity Thoroughbred Racing LLC, ITR LLC, The Ellwood Johnston Trust, and Kenneth A. Tevelde, Flyover has now proven he can deliver when the conditions suit him, and on a hillside turf course that rewards front-runners with clean trips, Sunday's performance was as complete as it gets.