None Above the Law ends losing streak at Los Alamitos

None Above the Law and jockey Antonio Fresu, right, outleg Lovesick Blues (Kyle Frey), left, to win the $100,000 BeNone Above the Law and jockey Antonio Fresu, right, outleg Lovesick Blues (Kyle Frey), left, to win the $100,000 Bertrando Stakes, Saturday, June 22, 2024 at Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress CA. (Benoit Photo)

CYPRESS — Opening day for thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos was an overdue day in the sun for one 6-year-old gelding.

None Above the Law came into the $100,000 Bertrando Stakes on a warm Saturday afternoon with a 19-race losing streak that stretched back nearly three years and included a last-place finish in this race in 2023.

Sent off as the 9-1 longshot in a field of four California-breds, None Above the Law and jockey Antonio Fresu sat far behind the front-runners and took advantage when they tired, winning by three-quarters of a length.

Love Sick Blues finished second, well clear of Don’t Fight the Fed and odds-on favorite Cowboy Mike. None Above the Law paid $20 to win. He covered the mile in a moderate 1:35.76.

“I never lost faith,” said trainer Jorge Periban, who saddled None Above the Law for the fifth time since claiming the horse for $50,000 from trainer Peter Miller at Santa Anita in February. “I checked all the records, and I said, ‘This guy’s got a lot of talent.’ I had a good feeling.

“Sometimes when you work hard, they come in.”

None Above the Law, a gray son of Karakontie who’s now owned by Hector Castrellon, has enough talent that his last win before this came in the Sept. 4, 2021 Del Mar Derby, a Grade II race.

Lately he had been running against better horses than he faced Saturday, being well-beaten in recent months by The Chosen Vron, Kings River Knight, Judge Miller, Johnny Podres and Mr Fisk.

Entering a softer race gave Periban hope. So did a fast, 58 2/5-second workout at Santa Anita since None Above the Law’s last race.

“He never did that before,” Periban said. “It surprised me.”