William and Susan Tomasic's Pendleton completed the perfect season at SunRay Park and Casino, opening up on his competition entering the far turn en route to an electrifying daylight score in the $75,000 San Juan County Commissioners Handicap, the richest thoroughbred race of the meet and one of three stakes races held on the closing day of the 2019 season.
Trained by Justin Evans and ridden to victory by Frank Reyes, Pendleton ran the 1 1/8 miles in a final time of 1 minute, 49.5 seconds while winning by more than 14 lengths. The Kentucky-bred son of Giant's Causeway already captured the 6 1/2 furlong Inaugural Stakes on opening day last month, then added an emphatic, open-length victory here just two weeks later when stretched out to a mile. The ease in which he has decimated his rivals has Evans thinking about bigger goals.
"He's just so professional. He doesn't need the lead, he can rate and he's just getting better," Evans said of Pendleton, who added $45,000 to his career earnings while winning for the seventh time from 10 starts. His lifetime bankroll now has increased to nearly $175,000.
"We've got a few goals in mind," Evans reflected after the romp in the Commissioners' Handicap. "There's some races at Albuquerque, but there's also a couple races this summer at Del Mar we're keeping our eyes on."
Pendleton was challenged for the lead in the early stages of the three-turn event by stablemate Bokeelia Island and jockey Miguel Perez. He quickly put that one away approaching the far turn. Meantime, Lookin at Lee, runner-up in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, was beginning to unwind from far off the early pace. He proved no match for the winner, settling for second and nearly seven lengths clear of the rest of the field.
In the end, Pendleton, who was sent off at odds of 3-to-10 and returned a rather easy $2.60 to his winning backers, was just far too much for his opponents and clearly deserves the title of Horse of the Meet.
Photo courtesy Coady Photography