The penultimate weekend of racing for 2023 kicks off on Saturday with a pair of graded stakes at Gulfstream Park, Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps at Fair Grounds, and then continues on Tuesday with Santa Anita's traditional day-after-Christmas opening day featuring six graded stakes, including three Grade 1.
Sprinters are in the spotlight in South Florida, with a wide-open field of fillies and mares contesting the G3 Sugar Swirl at six furlongs, followed by the G3 Mr. Prospector Stakes, where Sibelius defends his title in a field of nine colts and geldings going seven panels. Gulfstream also attracted big fields for the Tropical Park Oaks and Tropical Park Derby scheduled over Gulfstream's new turf course.
There are no standouts in the Untapable Stakes at Fair Grounds, where six 2-year-old fillies will race a mile and 70 yards in quest of qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks (10-5-3-2-1 to the top five). The 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes, final event of a 12-race card featuring eight stakes at the New Orleans track on Saturday, attracted eight soon-to-be sophomore colts led by Brad Cox-trained Nash, a son of Medaglia d'Oro coming off a 10 1/4-length winning performance in a Churchill Downs maiden race in November that earned him a 97 Beyer Speed Figure. The top five in the Gun Runner will earn 10-5-3-2-1 points for the Kentucky Derby.
The final three Grade 1 stakes of the year highlight Santa Anita's opening day program, which offers a total of 11 races (including three Grade 2 stakes) and gets under way at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern.
Not surprisingly, trainer Bob Baffert holds a strong hand in the G1 Malibu for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs, with G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint pacesetter Speed Boat Beach leading his trio of entries, along with $3,550,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old purchase Hejazi, who returned from a seven-month hiatus to dominate an allowance field Nov. 3. Someone will walk away from the Malibu with G1 credentials to enhance their stallion resume.
The G1 La Brea, the companion race for 3-year-old fillies, looks to be wide open, with a field of 10 that includes just a single previous graded stakes winner, Richard Mandella-trained Ice Dancing, a daughter of Frosted who won the G3 Santa Ynez in January before going to the sidelines. In her comeback race in late October, Ice Dancing came up a half-length short, finishing second as a heavy favorite against older fillies and mares.
Santa Anita's other G1, the American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/4 miles on turf, similarly has just one previous graded winner, Anisette, most impressive last summer winning the G1 Del Mar Oaks. East Coast-based Be Your Best has been knocking on the door against top company for trainer Horacio De Paz, and she'll ship west to take on Anisette once again, having finished second to her at Del Mar.
Saturday
4:06 p.m. – Grade 3 Sugar Swirl Stakes at Gulfstream Park
After crisscrossing the country with stops in Kentucky, California, Oklahoma and Ohio, multiple stakes winner My Destiny is back home for what is expected to be her last race against a field of eight in the $125,000 Sugar Swirl.
Trained by owner Sam Wilensky's father, Herman, 6-year-old My Destiny will begin her new career as a broodmare in 2024, already booked to 2022 champion male sprinter Elite Power. She is enjoying her best season to date with four wins, two in stakes, from eight starts including a career-best performance to capture the six-furlong Flashy Lady Handicap by 5 ¼ lengths Sept. 24 at Remington Park.
Two-time defending Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. wheels Ed Seltzer's 7-year-old homebred mare Bluefield back just two weeks off a determined neck victory in the seven-furlong FTBOA City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Joseph will also send out 4-year-old Intrepid Daydream, a recent private purchase by Miller Racing that has put together four consecutive wins including the six-furlong Shine Again and Politely and seven-furlong Maryland Million Distaff, all at Laurel Park. She arrived at Gulfstream Monday.
4:36 p.m. – Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Millionaire gelding Sibelius, who used his win last year as a springboard to Group 1 glory in Dubai, returns to make a title defense against a field of eight rivals in Saturday's $125,000 Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Though winless in three tries since returning to North America, running fourth in the June 3 Aristides at Churchill Downs, seventh by 4 ¼ lengths in the July 29 Bing Crosby (G1) at Del Mar and fifth in the Phoenix Oct. 6, Sibelius will be racing at his home track for the first time since a 2 ¼-length triumph in the Mr. Prospector on New Year's Eve 2022.
At the opposite end of the gate is Holly Crest Farm's 3-year-old New Jersey homebred Great Navigator, never worse than third in nine career starts with three wins. He is twice graded-stakes placed, having run second in the 2022 Sanford (G3) at 2 and third in his most recent effort, the Oct. 1 Vosburgh (G2) at Aqueduct. Finishing ahead of him that day were Cody's Wish, back-to-back winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and a candidate for Horse of the Year, and three-time Grade 2-placed Accretive.
Grade 2 winner Howbeit and fellow multiple stakes-winning stablemate Winfromwithin, who have combined for 12 wins and $767,591 in purse earnings from 52 starts; 2022 Gallant Bob (G2) winner Scaramouche; Hurricane J, a front-running winner sprinting 6 ½ furlongs Nov. 19 at Gulfstream; Dreaming of Kona, promoted winner of Gulfstream's one-mile Mucho Macho Man Jan. 1; Grade 1-placed Gilmore and 2019 Rebel (G2) winner Long Range Toddy complete the field.
6:30 p.m. – Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds
Off a dominant win in his second career start, the Godolphin homebred Nash has been installed as 7-5 morning line favorite against seven rivals in Saturday's $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes. Trained by Brad Cox, the son of Medaglia d'Oro sprinted on debut on October 7 at Keeneland. Nash sat a pocket trip and finished a clear second behind the gate to wire winner Booth. Stretched out to 1 1/16 miles for his follow-up start five weeks later at Churchill Downs, Nash went right to the lead and extended his margin of victory to the wire with every stride, romping up 10 ¼ lengths in front of his closest pursuer.
Catching Freedom, Cox's other Gun Runner entrant, also merits respect. Despite a compromised start and an extremely wide turn for home over a one-turn mile in his career debut at Churchill on October 1, the son of Constitution rolled home to win by 3 ¾ lengths.
Steve Asmussen, who trained Gun Runner for whom the race was named and won the inaugural edition with Epicenter, has two live runners in the race on Saturday.
It took Track Phantom three tries to break his maiden, but after finishing third then second over the one-turn mile at Churchill, he took his game to a new level in his first route try last time out. In a perfect pressing position early on, he took full command late on the backstretch and drew away to a convincing 4 ¾ length win.
Asmussen's other runner, the Gun Runner colt Risk It, is the class of the field. A dominant winner on August 19 at Saratoga first out of the box sprinting, Risk It stretched out to a one-turn mile for the Iroquois (G3) four weeks later at Churchill. Sent off as the 1.35-1 favorite, Risk It enjoyed a clear, stalking trip, but he could only manage second behind the 12-1 longshot West Saratoga. Stretched out to two-turns for the first time in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last out, he was a bit rank early on and was forced to check repeatedly on the backstretch. He found clear sailing on the far turn, but finished a well-beaten fourth behind Honor Marie.
In addition to the $100,000 purse, the Gun Runner will offer 2-year-olds, soon to be three, 10-5-3-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby 150 presented by Woodford Reserve.
Tuesday
3:00 p.m. – Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita
French-bred Easter, fresh off one of the most impressive turf performances of the year in Southern California for trainer Phil D'Amato, looms a standout versus five rivals at a mile and one eighth on turf.
Turning for home in the G2 Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles over the Del Mar turf Nov. 25, it appeared that D'Amato's top turf runner Hong Kong Harry had the race in-hand, but stablemate Easter pinned his ears under Antonio Fresu and powered to a half length victory while earning a lofty 99 Beyer Speed Figure.
With Fresu set to ride him back, Easter, a 5-year-old gelding who had won three of his nine stateside starts with Maryland-based Graham Motion prior to the Seabiscuit, will be seeking his third consecutive stakes victory on Tuesday.
4:00 p.m. – Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita
Anisette seeks the biggest win of her career as she heads a field of seven sophomore fillies going 1 1/4 miles on the grass course. Trained by Leonard Powell, Anisette's only previous try at the Oaks distance came two starts back in Santa Anita's G2 Rodeo Drive on Oct. 7, a race in which she finished a close second. With regular rider Umberto Rispoli back aboard, she cut back in distance to one mile on grass Nov. 5, finishing second by 3 ¼ lengths in the G3 Autumn Miss Stakes.
Trainer Horacio De Paz' Be Your Best is another who would prefer to have a fast pace to exploit in Tuesday's Oaks. In her first and only assignment versus male competition, she was last of 13 for most of the trip in the G2 Twilight Derby at a mile and one eighth on turf here Nov. 4 and came rolling on the far outside to finish eighth, beaten just 1 ¾ lengths under Irad Ortiz, Jr., who rides her back.
4:30 p.m. – Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita
A three-time Group 1 stakes winner and favored in 10 out of his 12 starts in his native Argentina, John Sadler's Subsanador figures prominently as he makes his U.S. debut with Flavien Prat at the controls versus five rivals going 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
Subsanador has been idle since winning a Group 2 stakes in Argentina on July 29, but he enters the San Antonio on the strength of a strong work tab that included four consecutive bullet moves. Subsanador's Argentine resume reads 12-7-1-1 with earning of $149,124.
Richard Mandella-trained Salesman was the runaway 8 ¼-length winner of the G2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes going the seldom-run distance of a mile and five eighths at Santa Anita on Nov. 4. Salesman, who earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure that day, seems to have found a new home on dirt as a 6-year-old gelding. Raced nearly exclusively on turf in France, Salesman was well beaten in his first two stateside assignments on grass with Mandella, finishing ninth in the G1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita May 29 and 12th in the restricted Wickerr Stakes July 23 at Del Mar.
Switched to dirt at a mile and one sixteenth in the restricted Los Alamitos Special Sept. 17 he ran a much improved third, followed by his rollicking win on Nov. 4.
5:30 p.m. – Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita
A stakes winner on both turf and dirt, versatile Speed Boat Beach heads a powerful three-horse contingent for trainer Bob Baffert. Second, beaten a head two starts back by top sprinter Dr. Schivel in the G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Sept. 30, Speed Boat Beach made all the early running in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 4, but tired to finish fourth, beaten three lengths.
Baffert's other two entries are Fort Bragg, fresh off a facile 2 ¼ length allowance score at 4-5 going 6 ½ furlongs on Nov. 17 at Del Mar, and Hejazi, off as the 8-5 favorite in a first condition allowance at six panels here on Nov. 3 and he blew the competition away, winning by 5 ½ lengths.
Always dangerous under any circumstances, eastern-based trainer Brad Cox will send out Giant Mischief, who will be ridden for the first time by Kazushi Kamura, who led all riders at Woodbine's recently concluded meet with 161 winners.
6:00 p.m. – Grade 2 Mathis Mile Stakes at Santa Anita
Phil D'Amato's hard-hitting English-bred Almendares retains the services of Flavien Prat and figures to be tough to deny among a field of seven sophomores going a mile on turf.
A 3-year-old gelding with a terrific stretch kick, Almendares rallied from far back to win going away by three quarters of a length in a one mile turf second condition allowance Dec. 3 at Del Mar—earning a career best 95 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.
A hard-charging fifth, beaten one length two starts back at 1 1/8 miles on turf in the G2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Nov. 4, Almendares finished well to be third, beaten one length three starts back in the G2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 3.
An authoritative 2 ¼-length one-mile maiden turf winner in his eighth career start Sept. 9 at Del Mar, the Jeff Mullins-trained Dandy Man Shines rallied for another 2 ¼-length one-mile turf win in the restricted Let It Ride Stakes on Nov. 10 and thus seeks his third win in a row with Umberto Rispoli at the controls on Tuesday.
6:30 p.m. – Grade 1 La Brea at Santa Anita
Trainer Michael McCarthy's Clearly Unhinged rates top billing among 10 sophomore fillies going seven furlongs. Most recently sixth at 23-1 in the G1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint here on Nov. 4, Clearly Unhinged, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Into Mischief, was second two starts back in the G3 Chillingworth Stakes Sept. 29, and in the best race of her career three starts back, she was second, beaten a head going seven panels in the G1 Test at Saratoga on Aug. 5.
Two-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Brad Cox appears well represented by lightly raced Howl, a daughter of Practical Joke who ships in from her Kentucky base unbeaten in two starts, her most recent triumph a one length score going seven furlongs in an ungraded stakes at Laurel Park Nov. 25.
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