Santa Anita
10th-Santa Anita, $68,000, Msw, 3-18, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:15.86, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. PLEASANT (f, 3, Munnings--Fair Lady, by Medaglia d'Oro) jumped well at odds of 9-2 despite getting bumped leaving the gate in her debut run and forced the issue from an outside second. Traveling kindly while racing in hand, she turned up the heat on the far turn and braced for the challenge of heavily favored $1.2-million FTFMAR graduate and second-time starter Ruby Nell (Bolt d'Oro) leaving the quarter pole. Pleasant still had plenty left in the...
10th-Santa Anita, $68,000, Msw, 3-17, 3yo, f, 1m (off turf), 1:37.95, ft, 16 1/2 lengths. WINDOW SHOPPING (f, 3, American Pharoah--Delightful Joy {GSW, $179,200}, by Tapit), last seen sandwiched at the start and bravely making up ground to take sixth in her Nov. 13 juvenile unveiling at Del Mar--a race yielding SW Broadway Girls (Army Mule), showed a new dimension here in this off-turf contest. Leaving the blocks at 3-5 and stalking from cover early in fourth, she moved up to press the leaders at the half-way point and dueled...
The picture of consistency, Alice Marble's only off-the-board finish in her career came on debut in Oct. 2020 when she found the synthetic at Golden Gate not to her liking. Never worse than third over both dirt and turf in California since, the 6-year-old has contested two straight stakes races at Santa Anita--finishing third to Big Summer (Mr. Big) in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint S. Jan. 7 and winning the Spring Fever S. On the dirt Feb. 19. Happy whether this race stayed on the turf...
This past year was a good one for the Breeders' Cup. Returning to Keeneland for the first time since the pandemic year of 2020, the event generated a global wagering total of $189.1 million, which set a record, 3.4% higher than the previous mark. The Breeders' Cup also produced big numbers when it came to the total economic impact for Keeneland, Lexington and the surrounding community. It was announced Friday that a survey conducted by University of Louisville Economics Professor Thomas E. Lambert, Ph.D., showed that the Breeders' Cup was...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 10th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 8:01 p.m. The first of a pair of Juddmonte fillies racing for Bob Baffert, PLEASANT (Munnings) is the latest filly to make the races out of Fair Lady (Medaglia d'Oro), herself a daughter of GISW Honest Lady (Seattle Slew) making her a half to GISW First Defense (Unbridled's Song), SW & GSP Honest Mischief (Into Mischief), SW Phantom Rose (Danzig), and SW Honest Quality (Elusive Quality). Pleasant's third dam is none other than Toussaud (El Gran Senor), the...
Months of contentious jockeying over whether Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair) should run its second of two weeks of racing at the end of August un-overlapped with its Northern California compatriot, Golden Gate Fields (GGF), ended in defeat for the small rural track. In a 5-1 vote during Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, the board decided that during the week running Aug. 23 to Aug. 29, Humboldt and GGF would field simultaneous race meets. Ferndale will run the first of two scheduled weeks of racing this year, from Aug....
Javier Castellano will accept his George Woolf Memorial Jockey Trophy Award Sunday at Santa Anita. The four-time Eclipse Award winner is the 74th winner of the Woolf Award, which has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950. Determined by a vote of jockeys nationwide and named for the late jockey who was regarded as one of the greatest big money riders of his era, the Woolf Award trophy is a replica of the life-sized stature of Woolf that adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.
Ballet Dancing earned her first stakes victory in style, skipping clear to an authoritative victory in the GIII Santa Ana S. at Santa Anita Sunday. Stretching out to a 1 1/4 miles for the first time, the bay filly was away well and was in hand while stalking pacesetting longshot Annaghlasa (Ire) (Estidhkaar {Ire}) through fractions of :24.01, :47.22 and 1:12.07. Finally let loose into the far turn, she ricocheted to the lead off the turn and was quickly beyond the reach of all pursuers. Favored Australia Mia (Street Sense),...
When Hunter Valley Farm's Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin purchased A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, the plan was to add the filly to the farm's broodmare band, but a string of three straight victories in the Hunter Valley colors has postponed that trip to the breeding shed and had the operation celebrating its first Grade I triumph when A Mo Reay scored a dramatic last-gasp victory in the GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Saturday. "Adrian and another partner on the farm,...
There were ostensibly no moons hitting eyes like big pizza pies on a dreary Saturday at Santa Anita, but the 4-year-old filly who was up in the final jump to take the GI Beholder Mile S.?--that's A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo). A $400,000 purchase by Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin's Hunter Valley Farm out of last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale, the dark bay swerved a clash with returning Grade I winners Secret Oath (Arrogate) and Clairiere (Curlin) in the GII Azeri S. in favor of a second career appearance at...
Santa Anita Park's Senior Vice President Amy Zimmerman and multiple Eclipse Award-winning journalist Jay Privman have been elected to the board of directors for the the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA). The horse racing veterans fill vacancies left by the resignation of Candace Coder-Chew and the untimely passing of Howard Zucker late last year. "We are thrilled to welcome Amy and Jay to the CARMA Board of Directors," Billy Koch, President of CARMA, said. "Their vast knowledge and experience in the horse racing industry will be invaluable to our organization...
Trainer Todd Pletcher has unsaddled the winner of the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby a record five times--no one else has more than two to their credit--and he stands a fair chance to make it a half-dozen Saturday afternoon when he sends out the two favorites on the morning line. Pegged at odds of 8-5 is Whisper Hill Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit), who will attempt to provide his sire with a fourth winner of the race since in its last 10 runnings (Ring Weekend, 2014; the...