Santa Anita
Santa Anita was forced to cancel its New Year's Day racing card Sunday as steady rain soaked the Southern California area throughout Saturday night and into early Sunday morning. The rain began as a light drizzle Saturday morning, but increased in strength throughout the completion of the program, continuing throughout the night. The holiday card's expected feature, the GIII Santa Ynez S., will be run next Sunday. Santa Anita Director of Racing Chris Merz said entries will be reopened and the field will be drawn on Thursday. The Santa Ynez...
Fresh off her gate-to-wire maiden-breaking score in her third career start at Del Mar Nov. 13, Broadway Girls, given an unconvincing 16-1 chance for her stakes debut, showed a similar burst of speed to wire the field in Friday's Blue Norther S. Ridden hard to the front from her middle gate by jockey Edwin Maldonado, Broadway Girls was joined on her outside by Pleasant Wave (More Than Ready) into the first turn before assuming solo command through an opening quarter set in :22.79. Going easily on lead while chased by...
A 2 1/2-length debut winner, Classical Cat jumped straight into deep waters, contesting the GI Del Mar Futurity and finishing seventh behind 'TDN Rising Star' Cave Rock (Arrogate). Back in the winner's circle last time out at Santa Anita Oct. 23 in his first try over grass, Classical Cat kept to the grass Friday and broke as the 2-1 second wagering choice behind favored Nagirroc. Off the pace in fourth as Game Time (Not This Time) led the field of six, he hung against the rail before tipping out for...
Frankie Dettori's Southern California sojourn could scarcely have gotten off to a more positive start, as the legendary jockey rode a three-timer on the opening day of the winter/spring meeting at Santa Anita Park just outside of Los Angeles. In the first of his four rides on Boxing Day, Dettori was reunited with the Country Grammer (Tonalist), with whom the Italian won his record-equaling fourth G1 Dubai World Cup last March, in the GII San Antonio S. (video), a potential steppingstone to yet another Middle East appearance. Handy to the...
Who was the most talented 3-year-old male to race this year? I will not argue with anyone who says the answer is Epicenter (Not This Time). He won the GII Louisiana Derby, finished second in the GI Kentucky Derby and second in the GI Preakness S. From there, he won the GII Jim Dandy S. and the GI Runhappy Travers S. before an injury kept him from finishing the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Other than the Classic, he finished first or second in all of his starts and won four...
Small-time breeder Kevin Molloy was provided with the best possible Christmas present late on Monday night when Rhea Moon (Ire), the first produce out of homebred Callisto Star (Ire), became Starspangledbanner's fourth top-flight winner of 2022 when battling to Grade I American Oaks glory at Santa Anita. Rhea Moon began her career for Ken Condon in Ireland, for whom she showed bundles of potential when placing in six-furlong maidens at Dundalk and the Curragh before being purchased privately by BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe and international bloodstock agent Niall Dalton to...
Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was produced by the hot-riding Juan Hernandez approaching the final furlong and fought her way past pace-pressing stablemate School Dance (Animal Kingdom) in the final couple of jumps to win Monday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita. A 6-1 gamble exiting a 1 1/4-length success in the GIII Autumn Miss S. going a mile over this course Oct. 29, Rhea Moon was one of the last away, but improved along the inside while tugging a bit for her head and raced fourth-last with a circuit...
On a record-setting opening day at Santa Anita, Zedan Racing Stable's Taiba (Gun Runner) earned his third Grade I victory and bolstered his chances for an Eclipse award with a 4 1/4-length victory in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. Monday in Arcadia. The win was the fifth on the card for trainer Bob Baffert, who recorded three graded victories with Fun to Dream (Arrogate) winning the GI La Brea S. and Country Grammer (Tonalist) taking the GII San Antonio S. Baffert was also represented by Faustin (Curlin), who was tabbed...
Jill Baffert and Connie Pageler's Fun to Dream, beaten just once now in six trips to the post, scored her first graded victory with a determined win in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Monday. Fun to Dream shadowed the pacesetters three wide down the backstretch. She stuck her head in front at the top of the lane and held Awake at Midnyte--the only horse so far to have finished in front of her--at bay down to the wire to score by 3/4 lengths. "This horse is getting...
Country Grammer, reunited with Frankie Dettori for the first time since winning the G1 Dubai World Cup in March, strode home an easy winner of the GII San Antonio S. at Santa Anita Monday. Sent off the 3-5 favorite, Country Grammer was hustled from his outside post by Dettori, but was unable to match the speed of his inside rivals and was caught four wide into the first turn as Hopkins (Quality Road) took the early lead and was in front through fractions of :22.76 and :46.16. Country Grammar rolled...
Things didn't look especially promising for those who crunched Michael Lund Petersen's Faustin (c, 2, Curlin--Hard Not to Like, by Hard Spun) into 90 cents on the dollar in the early stages of the first juvenile test of the new meet at Santa Anita Monday afternoon. But the gunmetal gray colt did his best work through the line to graduate by open lengths and become a new 'TDN Rising Star.' The March foal was not off to the most alert of beginnings and was no better than midfield and under...
Newmarket-based trainer George Boughey is mapping out a 2023 campaign for Royal Ascot winner Missed The Cut (Quality Road), which includes a potential trip to Dubai and possibly America. "There's a chance that he could go to America," Boughey said. "There's a race called the Santa Anita H. on Mar. 4, which is a Grade I on dirt. We'll see, but he's doing very well physically and I always said to [co-owner] Bill Farish and the guys at Lane's End that I didn't want to over-race him this year but...