by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.25.2023|5:11pm Hopper Returns From Six-Month Layoff, Faces Eight Rivals In San Pasqual Idle since June 11, Bob Baffert’s trainee Hopper will be bidding for his second consecutive graded stakes win in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita as he heads a field of nine older horses going 1 1/8 miles. A runaway 5 ½ length winner of the G3 Affirmed Stakes last June, Hopper, […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.25.2023|4:36pm Oaks Prep: After Missing Santa Ynez With Fever, Talented Justique Returns In Saturday’s Las Virgenes With a come-from-behind style that leaves her backers on the edge of their seats, C R K Stable’s Justique, idle since Nov. 19, heads a field of six sophomore fillies going a flat mile in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The Las Virgenes is the first […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.21.202301.21.2023|7:42pm8:11pm ‘A Mile And A Half Is Right Up Her Alley’: Duvet Day Wins Astra With Perfectly Timed Rally A scintillating bay flash from off the pace, Irish-bred Duvet Day exploded through the lane to win Saturday’s $100,000 Astra Stakes for older fillies and mares at Santa Anita by 1 ¼ lengths as Japanese jockey Kazushi Kimura notched his second stakes win of the meet. Trained by Michael McCarthy and owned in-part by pop […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.18.2023|5:20pm Queen Ofthe Temple Leads Wide Open Field For Marathon Astra Stakes With leading man Juan Hernandez taking over, trainer Dan Blacker’s multiple stakes-placed Queen Ofthe Temple heads a wide open field of older fillies and mares going a marathon 1 1/2 miles over the Santa Anita turf in Saturday’s $100,000 Astra Stakes. Most recently third, beaten 4 ½ lengths going 1 3/8 miles over the Del […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.15.202301.15.2023|8:00pm8:40pm Kirstenbosch Scores Last-Gasp Nose Victory In La Canada, Provides Kimura First Santa Anita Win Kazushi Kimura, Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey of 2019, won his first-ever Santa Anita race in style on Sunday as he drove John Sadler-trained Kirstenbosch to a desperate nose victory over favorite Ganadora in the $200,000 La Canada Stakes (G3). Owned and bred by Keith Abrahams, Kirstenbosch covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.19 on a track […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.15.202301.15.2023|5:43pm7:11pm ‘Today Was The Day’: $3.55-Million Purchase Hejazi Wires Maiden Field In Breakthrough Win At Santa Anita A $3.55 million 2-year-olds in training sale purchase last May, trainer Bob Baffert’s Hejazi, idle since Oct. 8, served notice he’s ready for the Kentucky Derby trail as he broke his maiden in impressive fashion on Sunday at Santa Anita. After taking serious pace pressure from his rail post, the colt won by 1 1/4 […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.13.202301.13.2023|6:27pm6:27pm Rain Rain Go Away: Santa Anita Cancels Monday Holiday Program With heavy rain in the forecast, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., has announced there will be no live racing on Monday, Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Santa Anita will instead run Friday, Jan. 20, which was originally scheduled to be an off-day. Although there is no racing this Saturday and Monday, Santa […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.12.202301.12.2023|2:57pm2:57pm Rainy Forecast: Santa Anita Cancels Saturday Card, Reschedules Races With a 100 percent chance of rain forecast for this Saturday, Santa Anita Park has announced it will proactively cancel Saturday’s eight-race card. In consultation with the CTT, TOC and CHRB, Saturday’s races will be offered as extra races this Sunday, Monday, and Friday, Jan. 20. Originally scheduled for this Saturday, the Grade 3, $200,000 […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.08.2023|8:38pm Road To The Kentucky Derby: Reincarnate 16-1 Sham Upsetter As Baffert Runners Take Top Three Spots Although he was pressed through swift fractions to the top of the lane, longshot Reincarnate, one of three Bob Baffert entrants, was smooth as silk as he fended off all challengers to prevail by a neck in Sunday’s $100,000 Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita. Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Reincarnate got a flat mile in […]
by Mike Willman/Santa Anita|01.08.202301.08.2023|6:54pm6:55pm Heavy Favorite Ice Dancing Kicks Clear To Santa Ynez Triumph With 4-5 morning line favorite Justique scratched earlier, Richard Mandella’s Ice Dancing inherited the role of heavy favorite in Sunday’s $200,000 Santa Ynez Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita and she did not disappoint, rallying for a decisive 3 ¼-length win. With Flavien Prat breaking his stakes drought on day eight of the current Classic Meet, […]