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Likley Favorite Wildman Jack Back On Turf For Eddie D Stakes

A graded stakes winning turf sprinter who was most recently a close fourth in a Grade I sprint on dirt, trainer Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack looks like the horse to beat among a field of seven 3-year-olds and up in Friday's Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita. The Eddie D, to be run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, will serve as the main event on a 10-race Autumn Meet opening day card.

A W.C. Racing homebred 4-year-old gelding by O'Neill's 2013 Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, Wildman Jack was last seen at Santa Anita winning the Grade III Daytona Stakes three starts back on May 23.

Fresh off the best race of his career, California-bred El Tigre Terrible returns to turf for trainer Peter Miller and retains the services of Flavien Prat, who comes off another meet-leading performance at Del Mar this summer.

Named in honor of the retired all time great Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the Eddie D was run as the Morvich Stakes prior to being renamed in 2012. Delahoussaye won the 1984 Morvich aboard the Eddie Gregson-trained Tsunami Slew.

WILDMAN JACK

Owner: W.C. Racing, Inc.

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Head and head for the lead throughout, Wildman Jack, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, had to settle for fourth money when beaten 1 ½ lengths going six furlongs in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes on Aug. 1. Following his win in the Daytona here in May, Wildman Jack was off as the 3-1 favorite in a Grade II turf sprint going 5 ½ furlongs at Keeneland, but trailed throughout, finishing last by 7 ¾ lengths. With his performance in the Crosby serving as notice he's back to his best, he should be tough to beat in Friday's Eddie D.

EL TIGRE TERRIBLE

Owner: Slam Dunk Racing & Michael Nentwig

Trainer: Peter Miller

Off as the even money favorite in the state-bred Real Good Deal Stakes going seven furlongs at Del Mar July 31, this 3-year-old gelding by Smiling Tiger rallied four-wide turning for and won going away by 4 ¾ lengths. Well beaten at 7-2 two starts back in the one mile turf Oceanside Stakes July 10, he was a close second in the Desert Code Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf here June 6—which was his first start of 2020. A winner versus open company of the 2019 Speakeasy Stakes going five furlongs on turf here on Oct. 6, El Tigre Terrible, who was purchased for a bargain $18,000 out of the 2018 Barretts October Yearling Sale, has won four out of his eight starts and has banked $210,510.

THE GRADE II EDDIE D STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Wildman Jack—Abel Cedillo—126
Give Me the Lute—Drayden Van Dyke–124
Mr Vargas—Tyler Baze—126
Grit and Curiosity—Luis Saez—124
Sparky Ville—Mike Smith—126
El Tigre Terrible—Flavien Prat—120
Big Runnuer—Juan Hernandez—124

With the Grade II Eddie D and the Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes serving as co-feature, first post time for a 10-race card on opening day, Friday, is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Likley Favorite Wildman Jack Back On Turf For Eddie D Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Baffert-Trained Trio Tops Friday’s Chillingworth Stakes On Opening Day At Santa Anita

Bob Baffert holds a strong three-card hand in Friday's Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita, with his streaking 4-year-old Qahira, who is in search of her fourth consecutive win, rating top billing among a field of seven fillies and mares three and up going 6 ½ furlongs.

Due to air quality concerns resulting from the Bobcat Fire in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita's 2020 Autumn Meet, originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 19, will instead open this Friday, with both the Grade III Chillingworth and the Grade II Eddie D Stakes headlining a 10-race card.

Baffert will also be well represented by classy Quality Response, a restricted stakes winner at two who will be making her second start of the year on Friday and by recent restricted stakes winner Message, a 4-year-old filly that will be shortening up out of four consecutive routes.

Richard Mandella's Amuse, most recently second in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap going 6 ½ furlongs, seeks her first graded stakes win at age five and rates a solid chance.

Formerly run as the LA Woman Stakes, the Chillingworth honors the memory of longtime Oak Tree Racing Association Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth, who passed away in October, 2019 at the age of 93.

QAHIRA

Owner: Baoma Corporation

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of four out of her six career starts, Qahira, who dominated her competition by taking a 6 ½ furlong classified allowance by three lengths on Aug. 16 at Del Mar, will be making her second start of the year and will also be trying stakes competition for the first time. Although ridden last time by Abel Cedillo, top eastern rider Luis Saez, who comes to town primarily to ride Maximum Security for Baffert in Saturday's Grade I Awesome Again, will be aboard for the first time. Dating back to her 4 ¾ length first-out maiden romp on Nov. 25, 2018, she has dominated her competition by a combined 13 ¼ lengths in her four victories. With speed to spare and Saez aloft, Qahira is the horse to beat in the Chillingworth.

QUALITY RESPONSE

Owner: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of her first two starts in September of last year by a combined 12 ¾ lengths, this daughter of Quality Road was subsequently dispatched at 7-2 in the Grade I Frizette Stakes going a one turn mile at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, 2019, but finished a well beaten last and did not resurface prior to running a respectable fourth, beaten 3 ¼ lengths in second condition allowance going 5 ½ furlongs on Sept. 6 at Del Mar. With a recent race under her belt, look for big improvement.

AMUSE

Owner: Claiborne Farm, Ramona Bass, Perry Bass & Adele Dilschneider

Trainer: Richard Mandella

A game second when beaten 3 ¾ lengths in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo on Aug. 21, this 5-year-old mare by Medaglia d'Oro, who has two wins from nine starts, will be making her fifth start of the year and with two wins from three lifetime starts at Santa Anita, rates a solid chance.

THE GRADE III CHILLINGWORTH, WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 6 of 10 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

Message – Flavien Prat- 124
Qahira – Luis Saez – 124
Into Chocolate – Umberto Rispoli – 124
Mucho Amor – Juan Hernandez – 124
Hang a Star – Tyler Baze – 122
Unique Factor – Heriberto Figueroa – 124
Amuse – Drayden Van Dyke – 122

First post time for a 10-race program on Friday is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Baffert-Trained Trio Tops Friday’s Chillingworth Stakes On Opening Day At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Code of Honor Pointing for Kelso Handicap

Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) will not be back to defend his title in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and will instead make his next start going a mile in the GII Kelso H. at Belmont Oct. 3.

“I said all along after the Whitney that I was going to start all over again,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I thought the Kelso was a good spot to start over again, running him at a mile instead of a mile-and-a-quarter in the Gold Cup after he’s been away for 2 1/2 months. We’ll run him at the mile, see what happens and take it from there.”

McGaughey said that if Code of Honor runs well in the Kelso, he will be pointed for either the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile or the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Code of Honor was placed first in the 2019 Gold Cup after Vino Rosso (Curlin) was disqualified for interference.

Code of Honor got off to a fast start this year, winning the GIII Westchester S. June 6 at Belmont. He subsequently finished third in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. and, in his most recent start, fourth in the GI Whitney S.

“With him, it got all messed up because of COVID and no racing for a while,” McGaughey said. “Those races got bunched up. I probably made a mistake running him in the Metropolitan Mile. If not for COVID, I could have run him opening day at Belmont, in the Met Mile on Belmont Day and then in the Whitney in the first part of August. The spacing would have been a lot better. That wasn’t to be.”

Code of Honor worked Monday morning at Belmont, going five furlongs in 1:02.81.

“He worked good this morning,” McGaughey said. “Javier (Castellano) worked him and he came back and said that he worked really good and that there was a lot left in the tank. I’ll sharpen him up next Monday and we’ll take it from there.”

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BHA/HRI Adjust Restrictions on Internationally-Trained Runners

Reciprocal arrangements on participation by runners trained in international jurisdictions were announced jointly by the British Horseracing Authority and Horse Racing Ireland on Monday. Beginning on Oct. 1, internationally-trained horses will be permitted to participate in all British races other than Class 5 and 6 handicaps/classified stakes on the Flat and Class 5 handicaps over Jumps. All such runners will be subject to the relevant government regulations. The same arrangements will also be introduced in Ireland on Oct. 1. The Irish Rules of Racing will continue to state that “a horse trained outside of Ireland, with a Flat handicap rating of less than 60 will not be qualified to run in an Irish Flat handicap.” All overseas runners in Ireland will also be required to adhere to Irish government guidelines and HRI protocols.

The UK Industry Racing Group determined that it is appropriate to relax these restrictions which were approved by the BHA board on Sept. 15. Going forward, the purpose of the new restrictions is intended to balance the importance of GB-trained horses being given an opportunity to run, especially in low-grade handicaps, with the requirement to improve the quality of racing and see the best possible horses compete, and encourage international competition. However, these restrictions will remain under constant review as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

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