Category: Horse Racing News

Almendares Seeks First U.S. Stakes Victory In Mathis Mile

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 in Tuesday's Grade 2, $200,000 Mathis Mile on the turf at Santa Anita.  The Mathis Mile is one of six graded stakes on an 11-race card on Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day and has been carded as race nine.

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.

Two for five in Ireland and a winner of two of his four starts locally with D'Amato, Almendares is owned by CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gervitz, et al.

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.

Owned by Red Baron's Barn, LLC and Rancho Temescal, Dandy Man Shines is a 3-year-old gelding coming to his best at a distance he relishes.

GRADE II MATHIS MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 9 of 11  Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT
  1. Reiquist—Irad Ortiz, Jr.—120
  2. Panic Alarm—Hector Berrios—120
  3. Calm Sea—Mario Gutierrez—120
  4. Almendares—Flavien Prat—120
  5. Ah Jeez—Junior Alvarado—120
  6. Dandy Man Shines—Umberto Rispoli—122
  7. Watsonville—Antonio Fresu—120
First post time for an 11-race card that will include six graded stakes on Tuesday is at 11 a.m. with admission gates opening at 9 a.m.

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Argentine Star Subsanador Makes U.S. Debut in San Antonio

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 in Tuesday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita.

With Flavien Prat engaged, Subsanador, a 4-year-old chestnut colt, 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 includes four consecutive bullet moves, the most recent a six-furlong clocking of 1:13.20 on Dec. 18.

Owned by Carlos Alejandro Vazquez, Subsanador's Argentine resume reads 12-7-1-1 with earning of $149,124.

A winner of this year's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and with career earnings in excess of $1.8 million, owner Steve Moger's Stilleto Boy has lofty credentials but comes off a pair of terrible starts, as he finished a distant last in the G1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita Sept. 30 and was eased two starts back in the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Trained by Ed Moger, Jr., Stilleto Boy has long been based at Golden Gate Fields but will be relocating soon to Santa Anita with the rest of Moger's stable.  A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Shackleford, Stilleto Boy, a three-time stakes winner, is 25-4-4-9 and is 8-2-2-2 at Santa Anita.

With leading man Juan Hernandez back aboard for the first time since September of 2022, look for Stilleto Boy to run a much improved race in the San Antonio, a race in which he finished second a year ago.

A runaway 8 ¼-length G2 winner going the seldom-run distance of a mile and five eighths at Santa Anita on Nov. 4, Richard Mandella was nonetheless in search of a new rider for his Irish-bred Salesman, as Flavien Prat has opted to ride newcomer Subsanador.

With Mike Smith engaged, Salesman, who earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure on Nov. 4, 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.  Owned by Wertheimer and Frere, Salesman is 26-4-6-5 overall with earnings of $335,300.

GRADE II SAN ANTONIO WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 6 of 11 Approximate post time 1:30 p.m. PT
  1. Stilleto Boy—Juan Hernandez—123
  2. Salesman—Mike Smith—125
  3. Brickyard Ride—Umberto Rispoli—121
  4. Newgrange—Irad Ortiz, Jr.—123
  5. Subsanador—Flavien Prat—125
  6. Mixto—Antonio Fresu—119
With 11 races, six of them graded stakes on the opening day docket, first post time will be early at 11 a.m.  Admission gates will open at 9 a.m.

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