GI Runhappy Malibu S.

It's been a long time since I have been up at `dark thirty', but here I find myself happily strolling into Santa Anita Park at 4:30 in the morning--a far cry from nearly 10 years ago when I was galloping horses and would find myself running late whilst popping an Altoid and three Advil to quell the night-before activities. But here I am. Why? Because I asked John Sadler for a Flightline (Tapit) interview and of course, Flightline trains at 5 a.m. After a morning of carrots, coffee, and horses,...

Brilliant 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit), among the most exciting horses in training or in recent memory, faces his toughest test to date in Sunday's GI Runhappy Malibu S. The $1-million FTSAUG buy turned in a debut for the ages when drubbing local foes by double digit lengths and earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure here in April, and after overcoming a bruised foot he put up a gaudy 114 Beyer when making similarly short work of Del Mar optional claiming foes Sept. 5. The John Sadler trainee has certainly...

After Charlatan (Speightstown) worked a half-mile Saturday in :49.80 at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert reported that his Grade I winner will likely make his next start in the Feb. 20 Saudi Cup. Charlatan is coming off a dominant win against a quality field in the Dec. 26 GI Runhappy Malibu S., his first after being sidelined following the GI Arkansas Derby May 2. Charlatan has been invited to the GI Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream, but will likely pass that race. Should Charlatan pass the Pegasus,...