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Medina Spirit Emerges With Narrow Victory In Robert B. Lewis Stakes

In a gutty gate to wire performance, Medina Spirit fought off all challengers to take Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes by a neck and thus stamped himself a top tier Derby hopeful for Bob Baffert. Owned by Zedan Racing Stables, Inc. and ridden by Abel Cedillo, Medina Spirit got 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.26 over a Santa Anita main track listed as “good” due to recent rains that deposited 2.4 inches of rain through noon on Friday.

Sent to the lead while head and head with Parnelli and Wipe the Slate into the clubhouse turn, Medina Spirit was pressed up the backside by Wipe the Slate, who was three quarters of length back three furlongs out. With a length advantage at the top of the stretch, Medina Spirit drifted out a bit and was immediately engaged by Hot Rod Charlie and Roman Centurian in a thrilling three-horse battle to the wire. Baffert's other entrant, Spielberg, finished fourth.

The top four finishers earned 10-4-2-1 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

“He's a very game horse,” said Cedillo, who collected his third win on the day and who has now ridden the Florida-bred colt by Protonico in all three of his races. “At the quarter pole, I didn't know, but he looked around and when he saw those horses, he kept going. He didn't get tired at all. On the gallop out (after the wire), he was by himself.”

A close second to highly regarded stablemate Life is Good going one mile in the G3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 2, Medina Spirit was heavily backed as the even-money favorite in a field of six sophomores and paid $4.00, $2.80 and $2.20.

“That reminded me a little bit of Silver Charm (1997 Kentucky Derby winner),” said Baffert, who rung up his record ninth Lewis win today. “He had every reason to give it up late in the stretch (when) those horses came to him. I thought he was beat. I thought they were going to get by and he wouldn't let them by, he fought on.

“…We just have to keep him healthy. It's a really tiring track, he went real fast early, but he showed that he had the qualities there. It's nice to win the Robert B. Lewis because it means so much to me. I would have liked my other horse (fourth place finisher Spielberg) to run better than he did, but those things happen.”

A first-out maiden winner going 5 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos Dec. 11, Medina Spirit, who is out of the Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa, was sold for just $35,000 at public auction last July after being purchased for $1,000 as a yearling – both sales at Ocala Breeders' Sales Company. With today's winnings of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $95,200 from three starts.

Trained by Simon Callaghan, Roman Centurian, an impressive 1 1/16 mile maiden winner on Jan. 3, was last early and rallied resolutely while caught five wide turning for home to best Hot Rod Charlie by a nose for second money. Off at 11-1 with Juan Hernandez, Roman Centurian paid $7.60 and $3.80.

A close second in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 6, Doug O'Neill's Hot Rod Charlie ran huge off the bench, finishing 11 lengths clear of Spielberg. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Hot Rod Charlie was the second choice at 5-2 and paid $2.60 to show.

Fractions on the race, all set by the winner, were 22.89, 46.61, 1:12.36 and 1:39.34.

Named in honor of the late Thoroughbred owner and philanthropist Robert B. Lewis, who along with his wife Beverly, owned two Kentucky Derby winners, Silver Charm in 1997 and Charismatic in 1999, the Lewis winner receives 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with four to second, two to third and one point to the fourth place finisher.

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Locals Idol, Tizamagician Face Off With Florida Invader King Guillermo In Saturday’s San Pasqual

The Richard Baltas-trained Idol, Richard Mandella's Tizamagician and Florida invader King Guillermo head a compact field of five older horses going a mile and one eighth in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita. To be run for the 83rd time, the San Pasqual is an iconic prep to the G1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6.

Lightly raced Idol, who is owned by Calvin Nguyen, was attentive to the pace en route to a close second place finish going a mile and one sixteenth in the G2 San Antonio Stakes here on Dec. 26 and will once again get the services of eastern-based Gabriel Saez on Saturday. An impressive seven furlong maiden winner in his second start at Churchill Downs Sept. 26, Idol, a 4-year-old colt by Curlin out of the A.P. Indy mare Marion Ravenwood, then aired by 5 ¾ lengths in a mile and three-sixteenths allowance at Churchill Nov. 8.

With two wins and as many seconds from his four career starts, Idol appears poised to have a big 4-year-old campaign for Baltas.

With an overall mark of 13-3-5-0, Tizamagician, a 4-year-old colt by Tiznow, comes off an outstanding second condition allowance win on Jan. 2, a race in which he led throughout and took by a half length at 4-1. Although he'll be facing a G2 winner in King Guillermo, Tizamagician has the advantage of a sharp recent win over the track as he once again runs out of his own stall for Mandella.

A close fourth in last year's G3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, Tizamagician, who is owned by MyRacehorse.com and Spendthrift Farm, LLC, will again be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, who has guided him to a pair of victories in his last four starts.

A disappointing fourth, beaten 12 ¼ lengths after pressing the early pace in the one turn Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct Dec. 5, trainer Juan Avila's King Guillermo had been since running second in a division of the Grade I Arkansas Derby on May 2 and may've been in need of the race. Owned by Victoria's Ranch, nom de course for retired five-time All Star catcher Victor Martinez, King Guillermo, 4-year-old colt by Uncle Mo, was an upset winner of the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby three starts back on March 7 and was subsequently off at 9-2 in the Arkansas Derby.

In what will be his first start west of the Mississippi River, King Guillermo ships west from his Gulfstream Park base and will be ridden for the first time by Abel Cedillo in what will be his seventh career start.

Second to top rated Charlatan going seven furlongs in the opening day Malibu Dec. 26, C R K Stable's Express Train will be ridden back by leading man Juan Hernandez and with a career-top Beyer Speed figure of 99 in-hand, rates a solid shot in what will be his eighth career start. Trained by John Shirreffs, Express Train was well off the early pace in the Malibu, but has proven very effective when on or near the lead going two turns.

THE GRADE 2 SAN PASQUAL STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 5 of 8 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT

Tizamagician—Drayden Van Dyke—120
Idol—Gabriel Saez—120
King Guillermo—Abel Cedillo—122
Express Train—Juan Hernandez—120
Zestful—Edwin Maldonado—120

First post time for an eight-race card on Saturday is at 12:30 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are offered free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager at 1st.com/Bet.

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Wildman Jack Returns To Dirt, Captures Palos Verdes Stakes At Santa Anita

Trainer Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack relished a return to the main track on Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as he drew off to an emphatic 4 ¼-length win in the Grade 3, $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, he got six furlongs in a scintillating 1:08.98.

Breaking from post position two, Cedillo was content to let last year's Palos Verdes winner, Captain Scotty, clear him early and then Wildman Jack tracked the pacesetter into the far turn. Leaving the quarter pole, Wildman Jack put a head in front and although he was a bit green late, won in-hand at the wire, providing Cedillo his third win on the day and O'Neill with a training double.

“Last time (Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on Jan. 1) I was sitting perfect, but he lost his shoes,” said Cedillo, who had a four-win day yesterday. “He lost his shoes, that's why he stopped…(The way) he ran today, I think he's better on the dirt.”

A disappointing sixth as the 2-1 favorite in the Hernandez at 6 ½ furlongs on turf, Wildman Jack, a 5-year-old gelding by O'Neill's 2013 Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, was off at 5-1 in a field of eight older horses and paid $13.20, $6.40 and $4.20.

“He's been on the grass, but we loved his dirt race at Del Mar (a close fourth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes four starts back on Aug. 1),” said O'Neill's assistant Leandro Mora. “We've been thinking about getting him back on the dirt since then and Doug and the owners decided this race would be good. This is a huge win for him. … It's been awhile since we had back to back days like this, it's great to win.”

O'Neill had three wins Friday and his win earlier Saturday came with promising Derby prospect The Great One).

Bred in Kentucky by W C Racing, Wildman Jack, who is out of the Orientate mare Orientatious, is also owned by Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing, Inc. A Group 3 sprint turf stakes winner on March 7, 2020, in Dubai, and a winner of the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf at Santa Anita on May 23, Wildman Jack now has three graded victories and is 14-5-3-1 overall. With the winner's share of $120,000, he increased his earnings to $559,505.

Unhurried early, Shashashakemeup was a close third after the first half mile and was second best on the day, finishing 1 ¾ lengths in front of late running Pyron. Off at 5-1 with Juan Hernandez, Shashashakemeup paid $6.80 and $4.20.

Breaking from the rail with Umberto Rispoli, Pyron was last early and was up to touch 3-1 favorite Ax Man by a neck for third. Off at 7-2, Pyron paid $3.20 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.01, 44.52 and 56.34.

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Flood Of Northern California Horses Swells Fields, Boosts Wagering During Los Alamitos Meet

Large fields, a record Pick 6 pool and payoff, and a fourth consecutive sweep of the Grade 1 Starlet and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert were among the highlights of the 11-day Los Angeles County Fair Winter Thoroughbred meet, which concluded Sunday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

Buoyed by an influx of more than 200 horses from Northern California – due to the current suspension of racing at Golden Gate Fields – the average field size for the season was nearly nine runners per race, compared to 6.97 for the 2019 Winter meet. There were 854 participants in 98 races during the season.

This led to a sizable boost in terms of business. The average daily handle on races run at Los Alamitos was up 36% over 2019 and average daily handle increased 20% on a comparable basis to last year's Winter season.

“This meet was an unprecedented one,'' said F. Jack Liebau, vice president of the Los Alamitos Racing Association. “In the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in California and elsewhere, racing was conducted safely thanks to the excellent compliance by all participants with the preventative measures in place.

“As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Golden Gate Fields, trainers and caregivers were not permitted to accompany their horses to Southern California. Los Alamitos management and the connections of those horses from Northern California are indebted to the local trainers who stepped up and assumed the training and care of those thoroughbreds.

“Without their help, the meet would not have been as successful and the owners of the shippers from Northern California wouldn't have had the opportunity to race.

“The Southern California Off-Site Stabling and Vanning Fund also helped mitigate this situation by covering the costs of transporting horses from Golden Gate to Southern California. The efforts of many contributed to how well things went during these three weeks.''

A five-day Pick 6 carryover led to a record total Pick 6 pool – and payoff – Dec. 18. Chasing a carryover that had swelled to $423,178, bettors wagered $1,809,485 for a total pool of $2,232,663. The previous record of $1,558,329 was set Dec. 17, 2016.

There were six perfect tickets two days ago and each was worth $228,816, bettering the previous best of $110,732 Dec. 12, 2014.

Baffert's latest successes in the Starlet and Los Alamitos Futurity were provided by, respectively, 17-1 shot Varda and 19-10 second choice Spielberg. The nose victory by Spielberg over 33-1 shot The Great One was Baffert's seventh in a row in the Futurity and his 13th overall. He won it six times at Hollywood Park between 1997-2013.

The meet's other graded stakes – the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa – was captured by Proud Emma for trainer Peter Miller and owners Gem Inc. and Tom Kagele.

The two other stakes were for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California. Sensible Cat won the $100,000 Soviet Problem for Irvin Racing Stable and trainer Carla Gaines while 13-1 shot Play Chicken won the $100,000 King Glorious for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Baffert, O'Neill and Jonathan Wong shared the training title with five victories.

Baffert had the most wins (nine) for the year at Los Alamitos, combining the Winter meet with the Summer Thoroughbred Festival (June 27-July 5). O'Neill was second with eight and Steve Miyadi third with seven.

A closing day triple enabled Abel Cedillo to win the jockey title. He finished with 13 victories, one more than Juan Hernandez and two more than apprentice Jessica Pyfer.

For the year at Los Alamitos, Hernandez finished with 16 wins, one more than Cedillo. Edwin Maldonado was third with 13.

Daytime thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos in 2021. The first of three meets is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 24 and continue through Sunday, July 4, followed by the Los Angeles County Fair season (Sept. 10-26) and the Winter meet (Dec. 2-12).

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