Santa Anita
At the Spa dueled early and kept finding late to take the Fasig-Tipton Debutante S. at Santa Anita Sunday and cap a big weekend for breeder and co-owner Terry Lovingier. The Cal-bred aired by seven lengths in Arcadia in open company May 7 and was further flattered when runner-up Munny Penny (Munnings)--also bred and co-owned by Lovinger--returned to romp herself. At the Spa was given a 9-5 second choice chance behind only Florida invader Laurel Canyon and she dueled with that foe from the outset through splits of :22.17 and...
Fasig-Tipton will conduct the under-tack show for its Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Monday in Arcadia. The first of three sets of the under-tack show is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT. Fasig-Tipton held its first 2-year-old sale at Santa Anita in 2019 and, following the auction's cancellation last year due to the pandemic, returns for its second renewal Wednesday. Bidding in Santa Anita's paddock begins Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.
2nd-Santa Anita, $67,856, Msw, 6-19, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.96, ft, 13 1/2 lengths. EDA (f, 2, Munnings--Show Me, by Lemon Drop Kid) summoned $550,000 from Donato Lanni on behalf of this owner at OBS March after breezing in :10 flat on the Ocala venue's synthetic surface. She was dispatched as the 21-10 second choice in this career bow behind 11-10 stablemate Censorship (Tonalist), who brought $300,000 from longtime Baffert clients Pegram, Watson and Weitman at the same auction. Chasing from second as Ko Olina (Stanford) put up a :22.53 first...
4th-Santa Anita, $65,000, Alw (NW2$X), Opt. Clm ($62,500), 6-18, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.46, ft, neck. DR. SCHIVEL (c, 3, Violence--Lil Nugget, by Mining for Money), winner of the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity when last seen at the races last September, made a promising return to action Friday afternoon, taking a six-furlong Santa Anita allowance in good style. Off at odds of 6-5 after touching 4-5 in the latter stages of the wagering, the bay colt was away from the one hole without incident and was settled in third position by...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, post time: 4:35 p.m. ET A pair of stablemates acquired about three hours apart at this year's OBS March Sale face off Saturday at Santa Anita. EDA (Munnings), bred by one of the sire's most fervent supporters Nate McCauley, was knocked down for $240K as a Keeneland September yearling last fall and was snapped up by Susan and Charles Chu's Baoma Corp. for $550K in Ocala after breezing an eighth of a mile in :10 flat. The Apr. 5...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-SA, $65k, Alw/Opt. Clm, 3yo/up, 6f, 5:31 p.m. ET DR. SCHIVEL (Violence), a Grade I winner at two, will make his sophomore debut in this allowance/optional claimer sprint Friday at Santa Anita. Placing in a pair of tries to start his career with Beyers of only 57 and 52, the bay jumped way forward with an 86 when romping to a 5 3/4-length graduation last August at Del Mar, a race that included three next-out winners as well as future Grade II victor Spielberg (Union...
According to a June 15 report from Bloomberg.com, The Stronach Group (TSG) has fielded interest from special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and others and is exploring options for parts of its portfolio. The Bloomberg report cited "people with knowledge of the matter" as its source. The Bloomberg report states that TSG is working with an outside advisor and has been approached by a number of parties, among them digital betting and media companies, that have expressed interest in aspects of the business. Bloomberg estimated the Stronach company portfolio is worth...
Classier (Empire Maker) kicks off his sophomore season versus four rivals in Sunday's GIII Affirmed S. at Santa Anita. The $775,000 KEESEP graduate got the 'TDN Rising Star' nod on debut sprinting at Santa Anita Oct. 24, then returned on quick notice with an eighth-place finish after showing speed in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile last time Nov. 6. Working bullets for his return, Bob Baffert takes the blinkers off for this. The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) tackles two turns for the first time here. The Cal-bred was impressive in his...
A pair of juvenile stakes scheduled for June 20 will feature purses of $100,000 each, up from the initial amount of $75,000. The Fasig-Tipton Debutante and Fasig-Tipton Futurity will be contested at five furlongs on Santa Anita's main track and serve as a prelude to Fasig-Tipton's 2-year-old in Training Sale at Santa Anita June 23. The sale's under-tack preview will be held June 21. "We boosted the purses on both races to $100,000 because we want to continue to provide tangible incentives for those owners and horsemen that are investing...
Loveherheart became the first winner for her freshman sire Klimt (Quality Road) with a dominant victory at Santa Anita Friday. Adding blinkers and dispatched at odds of 7-1 off a debut fifth when well-bet over 4 1/2 furlongs May 7, the $17,000 KEESEP yearling turned $50,000 OBS March breezer was off to a much better start this time around, set the pace in hand and widened through the final furlong to take it by about five lengths. Fellow OBSMAR grad Signora Minister (Valiant Minister) rallied late to finish second, just...
Following Wednesday's announcement from Churchill Downs Inc. that Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert would be banned for two years, the trainer was given the green light to run at Santa Anita, Del Mar and Monmouth Park. "The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has made significant progress in equine safety and welfare over the last several years and compliance with medication policies is an important component of that progress," said a statement released by Del Mar. "In that regard, we continue to gather information, including regulatory processes, related to the matter involving...
On Memorial Day, we saw a great race between Country Grammer and Royal Ship (Brz), a horse that I purchased in Brazil for Fox Hill Farm and Siena Farm. Two classy horses battling to the wire and neither giving up. But, what Royal Ship was giving up was weight to the winner and that is the issue that I want to address. Why, in a Grade I stakes race, or any graded stakes for that matter, are the horses not running with equal weights or, at least, weight for age...