A project that was undertaken with great urgency this past Aug. 17 came to fruition on opening day as Santa Anita's turf chute was utilized for the first time as Saturday's sixth race at 6 ½ furlongs attracted a field of 12 allowance horses aged three and up. Under sunny, blue skies, the race was taken by trainer Mike Puype's Highly Distorted, who got the distance in 1:14.85 while winning by three quarters of a length under jockey Juan Hernandez.
Breaking from post position four, Highly Distorted, idle since breaking his maiden going 5 ½ furlongs on the Del Mar turf July 25, showed good speed out of the gate and controlled the pace throughout through splits of 22.64, 44.72 and 1:08.64.
“Everything looked good,” said Santa Anita track surfaces consultant Dennis Moore, who oversaw the entire project from conception to sixth race post time. “It's nice to see it all come together from beginning to end.”
For Hernandez, it was his second win through six races. Highly Distorted, off at 11-1, paid $24.80 to win.
Anaconda, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, checked in sixth as the 5-2 favorite.
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