Nitti Rallies Late to Win San Juan Capistrano

Riding from far off the pace is not usually recommended. But for Nitti (IRE), lately, that has become a recipe for success. The latest example is the June 15 $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park. After having to navigate past eight other horses in his last start, a 1 1/8-mile allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita, a little extra distance served the gelded son of Make Believe (GB) well. Trailing by double-digit lengths in the 1 3/4-mile challenge, Nitti and jockey Armando Ayuso were happy to let the race come to them. "This horse, he is always at the back of the pack," Ayuso said. "He knows what he is doing. He's a smart horse." Trainer Leonard Powell felt the fractions were very fast and he was happy with the trip early on. When Ayuso "decided to try" favored Divin Propos (FR) and he "wasn't moving forward," the trainer became a little anxious. Ayuso later said the strategy was to follow Divin Propos because he was "the horse to beat." With a half mile left, Ayuso moved Nitti off the rail and out from behind Santa Barbarian. Nitti then passed Divin Propos as they neared the top of the stretch. "Then he decided to take course B, and it worked out well because it was a terrific turn of foot," Powell said after Nitti's first start under his guidance. With a quarter mile to go, Ayuso and Nitti began to reel in Time Song, who had led most of the way, and Balladeer. Going three wide, Nitti took the lead with a sixteenth to go and never looked back for a 2 1/2-length win in 2:45.94. "When I made my move, I knew I was a winner," Ayuso said. "I was confident because when I passed the clock the first time, I saw it was 1:10 and I knew the other horses were going fast and they were going to stop. My horse has a good kick at the end. Time Song posted fractions of :46.73, 1:10.72, 1:37.50, 2:03.50, and 2:29.32. Nitti paid $12 for the win. Time Song, Balladeer, Divin Propos, and Santa Barbarian rounded out the order of finish. Nitti is owned by Innergy Racing, Zephyr Racing, and Sonny Pais. He was bred by John Walsh, Jerry O'Brien, and the Make Believe Syndicate. Nitti improves to 3-1-1 from 12 starts with all three wins coming this year. He has $151,398 in earnings.