Michael Ryan

Mike Ryan's Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) kicked off the graded stakes action on the holiday card at Santa Anita Monday with a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Gamely Stakes, giving trainer Saffie Joseph his first-ever win at the Arcadia oval. The Florida-based Joseph doubled up in the very next race when Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) won the GII Hollywood Gold Cup. Sent off at 2-1, Be Your Best bound out to the early lead and was under a snug hold from Irad Ortiz, setting fractions of :22.99 and :46.15 while...

5th-BAQ, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 3:10 p.m. MALARCHUK (Nyquist) makes his debut on grass around two turns for owners Richard Schermerhorn, Jeff Drown and Michael J. Ryan and trainer Chad Brown at the Big A. The $535,000 OBS April Sale graduate, previously a $145,000 RNA as a FTKOCT yearling, is the third to race out of Seize the Ring (Tiznow). Malarchuk's dam is out of Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold), who is responsible for another north of the border champion in Catch the Thrill...