by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|10.01.2023|8:58pm Balladeer Makes All To Win John Henry Turf Championship In Stakes Debut Although he’s a three-time Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 2017, business has been slow of late for Victor Espinoza, but in Sunday’s $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship (G2) at Santa Anita, the 51-year-old native of Mexico City looked half his age aboard Balladeer for the first time. […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|10.01.2023|8:09pm Missed The Cut Makes The Grade, Earns First U.S. Win In Tokyo City Cup Originally based in England, trainer John Sadler’s long-fused Missed the Cut went from turf to dirt on Sunday at Santa Anita and responded with his first stateside victory, winning by 5½ lengths going 1 1/2 miles in the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup (G3). Confidently ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Missed the Cut completed the trip in […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|10.01.2023|7:02pm BC Distaff-Bound Adare Manor Extends Win Streak In Zenyatta Adare Manor, in search of her fifth consecutive win and fourth graded stakes score, was dispatched as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite in Sunday’s $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita and she certainly ran to the betting, coasting to a facile 5¼-length score under Juan Hernandez in gate-to-wire fashion. Trained by Bob Baffert, Adare Manor […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.30.202309.30.2023|9:59pm10:08pm Hong Kong Harry Resumes Winning Ways In City Of Hope Mile Idle since May 29, diminutive Irish-bred gelding Hong Kong Harry was sharp early and in control late as he attended the pace and rallied for a deceptively easy neck score in Saturday’s Grade 3 City of Hope Mile Stakes at Santa Anita. Contested over a course softened some by early rain, Hong Kong Harry, who […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.30.202309.30.2023|9:34pm10:05pm Lane Way Takes Eddie D Stakes For Hall Of Famers Mandella, Smith Call ’em the Sunshine Boys. Hall of Famers Richard Mandella, 71, and Mike Smith, 58, combined more than 90 years of racing experience as they teamed for victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita, as veteran 6-year-old gelding Lane Way attended the pace and kept grinding his way to a […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.30.202309.30.2023|9:10pm10:02pm Slow Down Andy Earns First Grade 1, BC Classic Slot With Wire-To-Wire Awesome Again Victory Breaking like a shot on wet-fast track, Reddam Racing’s homebred Slow Down Andy never did, taking eight rivals on a merry chase Saturday en route to a smashing 2 ¼-length victory in Santa Anita’s Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, final steppingstone to the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Trained by Doug O’Neill and […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.29.202309.29.2023|10:26pm10:46pm Kirstenbosch Eyes Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint After Chillingworth Win With a fast pace to run at, John Sadler’s Kirstenbosch flew late to take Friday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes on Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet opening feature by 1 ¾ lengths. Owned and bred by Keith Abrahams and ridden by Hector Berrios, Kirstenbosch, a 4-year-old daughter of Midnight Lute, got 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15.37 […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.28.2023|7:01pm Azul Coast Back On Dirt For Marathon Tokyo City Cup Well beaten on turf in his most recent start, Bob Baffert’s Azul Coast returns to the main track on Sunday and heads a field of five 3-year-olds and up going a marathon 1 1/2 miles in the Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup. A well beaten 11th at 1 3/8 miles on grass in the […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.28.2023|6:57pm Adare Manor Leads Field Of Four For Sunday’s Zenyatta Streaking Adare Manor seeks her fifth consecutive win as she heads a field of four fillies and mares three and up going 1 1/16 miles in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita. Named in honor of North America’s 2010 Horse of the Year and four-time Eclipse Award winner, the Zenyatta is a […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|09.28.2023|6:55pm Gold Phoenix After Third Straight Win In John Henry Turf Trainer Phil D’Amato’s Irish-bred Gold Phoenix tops Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita as he seeks his third consecutive graded stakes victory. Named for the two-time Horse of the Year and seven-time overall Eclipse Award winning Hall of Fame gelding, the John Henry has attracted a field of eight three-year-olds […]