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Weekend Lineup Presented by Christmastide Day At Laurel Park: Showdown In The Malibu

Saturday marks opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and racing secretary Chris Merz has put together an outstanding 11-race program that drew 104 entries (9.5 per race) and features six stakes races, including three Grade 1 contests: the Runhappy Malibu for 3-year-olds going seven furlong, the La Brea for 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs, and the American Oaks for 3-year-olds going 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Santa Anita has an early 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific first post on Saturday.

The highlight will be the Malibu, a race won by such outstanding Thoroughbreds as Round Table, Buckpasser, Damascus, Spectacular Bid, Ferdinand, Shared Belief, Runhappy and City of Light. Omaha Beach won the 2019 renewal.

Six were entered in this year's Malibu, but most eyes will be on the big two: unbeaten morning line favorite Nashville, who made his stakes debut for trainer Steve Asmussen on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland, winning the Perryville Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths and setting a track record of 1:07.89 for six furlongs; and Charlatan, first in all three of his starts by a combined 22 lengths for trainer Bob Baffert but disqualified from a win in the G1 Arkansas Derby because of a failed post-race drug test for lidocaine.

Unlike last year, when inclement weather pushed opening day back by two days, the forecast is for sunny skies and a high of 69 degrees in Arcadia, Calif.

Laurel Park in Maryland will be a bit colder for its big Christmastide Day program featuring eight stakes races, highlighted by the G3 Allaire duPont Stakes at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares, three and up. The forecast calls for clear skies and a high of a brisk 34 degrees on Saturday.

Christmastide Day kicks off at 12:25 p.m. Eastern with the $100,000 Heft Stakes for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs. That race is followed by seven successive stakes, each carrying a $100,000 purse, the $150,000 duPont being the lone exception.

Gulfstream Park has no graded stakes this weekend, but Saturday's card features three turf stakes: the two-mile H. Allen Jerken Stakes and the Tropical Park Derby and Oaks for 3-year-olds and 3-year-old fillies, respectively, at 1 1/16 miles (11, 12, and 13 runners were entered in the respective races). Cool weather prevails at Gulfstream with a high of 64 but the track will be fast and turf course firm.

Here's a brief look at some of the graded stakes (all times Eastern)

Saturday, Dec. 26

3:36 p.m. – $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile at Santa Anita

Smooth Like Strait was nailed on the money by Chad Brown-trained Domestic Spending in the G1 Hollywood Derby last out, but the Midnight Lute colt is going in top form for trainer Michael McCarthy. Mike Maker sends Field Pass west from Kentucky again after the colt by Lemon Drop Kid finished third behind Smooth Like Strait in the G2 Twilight Derby in October.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA4-EQB.html

3:53 p.m. $150,000 Allaire duPont Stakes at Laurel Park

Eres Tu just won the Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes at Laurel for trainer Arnaud Delacour and the daughter of Malibu Moon is favored to earn her first graded stakes victory. Ice Princess comes off a runner-up effort in the G3 Comely at Aqueduct for trainer Danny Gargan and the New York-bred by Palace Malice figures to be running late. Stakes veteran Another Broad is 3-for-7 at Laurel and returns to Maryland after a third-place finish at Churchill Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen in the G2 Falls City.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL122620USA8-EQB.html

5:09 p.m. – $200,000 San Antonio at Santa Anita

Mucho Gusto stepped up to win the G1 Pegasus World Cup in January for trainer Bob Baffert, then finished fourth in the inaugural Saudi Cup. He's making his first start since that effort and will have to contend with the versatile Sharp Samurai, a multiple graded stakes winner on turf for trainer Mark Glatt who ran second on dirt behind Maximum Security in the G1 Pacific Classic and third behind Knicks Go in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. Contention runs deep in this eight-horse field of older runners.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA7-EQB.html

5:43 p.m. – $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita

Chad Brown sends Motivated Seller west to try to reverse a narrow loss to Bob Baffert-trained Merneith in the Fort Springs Stakes on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland, but the Into Mischief filly will also have tepid morning line favorite Finite, from Steve Asmussen's barn, to contend with. The latter has won 6-of-11 with three thirds and comes off a sharp score in the G3 Chillukki at Churchil Downs Nov. 21.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA8-EQB.html

6:17 p.m. – $300,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita

Four fillies shipped from the East Coast for this G1 contest, including two from the barn of multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown – English-bred Capital Structure, making her stakes debut under Joel Rosario, and Duopoly, who gets Flavien Prat in the saddle after winning the Winter Memories at Aqueduct Nov. 15. Graham Motion-trained Sharing, coming off a fourth-place finish to her elders in the G1 Matriarch at Del Mar, won over this course as a 2-year-old when taking the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and is favored in the morning line. Second choice Luck Money is the “now” horse for trainer Arnaud Delacour, coming off back-to-back wins at Keeneland and Belmont. These four appear to have the local runners over a barrel.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA9-EQB.html

6:51 p.m. – $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita

Nashville and Charlatan, two 3-year-old sons of Speightstown, both have shown to be dyed-in-the-wool front-runners in their combined six starts, though Charlatan's last two races were around two turns. Like most Baffert runners coming off layoffs or making their debuts, Charlatan has been through a demanding training schedule and doesn't figure to be “short” in his return. Nashville debuted at 6 1/2 furlongs in September at Saratoga, then blitzed rivals at six furlongs in his next two starts. If Charlatan makes him work early, that additional furlong might be a challenge and could set things up for someone like Collusion Illusion, a late-running sprinter who had a terrible trip in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint, or Independence Hall, coming off a sharp allowance score for Michael McCarthy after more than six months on the shelf.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA10-EQB.html

Sunday, Dec. 27

6:51 p.m. – $100,000 Robert J. Frankel at Santa Anita

Chad Brown sent Irish-bred Miss Teheran to Santa Anita from Florida in search of his first Robert J. Frankel win, named for his late mentor. Winless in two U.S. starts, Miss Teheran will have Joel Rosario in the irons as she takes on, among others, the former Brown runner Altea, now trained by Michael McCarthy. They'll both have the California-bred Mucho Unusual to beat, however. The Mucho Macho Man filly won the G1 Rodeo Drive over the same course Sept. 26, then was no match for Audarya in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland.

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Nate Newby: ‘A Better Day-To-Day Product’ Is Key To Santa Anita’s Success

Santa Anita's new general manager Nate Newby spoke to the Los Angeles Times this week about his vision for the Arcadia, Calif. track. The long-time racing executive has been with Santa Anita for approximately 20 years, and is committed to improving the Southern California racing product.

A regular at handicapping tournaments over the years, Newby plans to use the handle and field size statistics to measure success in this new role. The track's groundbreaking safety initiatives will continue to be a primary focus, as well.

“Southern California and Santa Anita have over the years been the gold standard of racing,” Newby told latimes.com. “We have the quality, we have the best horses in the world and that shows in the premier events — the Triple Crown races and Breeders' Cup. Putting on a better day-to-day product for our horse players is key. My top priorities, 1 and 1a, are continuing our safety initiatives, making sure we're safe for both horses and riders.”

Japan: Fan Votes Decide Which Horses Compete In Sunday’s Arima Kinen

The 65th running of the Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) is set for Sunday, Dec. 27. With the 2-year-old G1 Hopeful Stakes scheduled for the previous day, the Arima Kinen, for the first time in four years, is once again back in its traditional spot as the year's final hurrah at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.

Twenty-three horses, with eight Grade 1 champions among them, have been signed up for the race and 16 of those will find a berth in the 2,500-meter (about 1.55 miles) turf event that boasts a winner's prize of JPY300 million (about UA$2.89 million), an amount that ties the Japan Cup for the highest prize money of JRA races.

As with the Takarazuka Kinen in late June, racing fans vote for which horse they would most like to see race in the Arima Kinen. And their hopes will be largely met, with six of fans' top ten favorite picks set to appear. The 4-year-old filly Chrono Genesis was the fan-ballot favorite with a total 214,742 votes, a number that rewrote the record held by Oguri Cap from 1989. Five more of the fans' top 10 picks will compete in the “dream race” running — No. 2 pick Lucky Lilac, No. 4 Fierement, No. 6 Kiseki, No. 9 World Premiere and No. 10 Blast Onepiece.

Here's a look at the expected top picks.

Chrono Genesis: Looking to become the second female in a row to scoop both the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen in the same year is Chrono Genesis. If she can win, she'll do it a year younger than last year's champ Lys Gracieux. Though in the Top 3 for all the classics and winner of the 2019 G1 Shuka Sho, it was from this year that the Bago-sired Chrono Genesis stepped decidedly into the spotlight. From four starts, three of them top-level, she has managed a formidable 1-2-1-3, putting her right in step for the winner's circle this Sunday. Her win by 6 lengths in the Takarazuka Kinen saw her beat five Arima hopefuls. And she shone bright in her last start, the Nov. 1 2,000-meter G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn), when she met superstar Almond Eye for the first time and finished just over half a length behind her and a neck off Fierement in third place. Though it will be her first time running over 2,500 meters, if her stamina in the Takaruzuka Kinen is any indication, Chrono Genesis should do just fine.

Fierement: Last year, Fierement, a 5-year-old son of Deep Impact, returned to Japan from a 12th-place showing in the Prix de l'Arc Triomphe. He was hurried into the Arima Kinen and finished in fourth place a good 6 1/2 lengths of the winner in what was a commendable effort given the rush and travel miles logged. Since then, he has had only two starts. He captured the Tenno Sho (Spring) for the second year in a row and was second to Almond Eye in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in November. Jockey Kenichi Ikezoe rode Fierement in the last year's Arima Kinen, but 2020's run is expected to go to jockey Christophe Lemaire who, in winning eight Grade 1 JRA competitions over the span of the year, stands to top not only his own record for annual Grade 1 wins but also his record for money earned.

World Premiere: Beating Fierement to the finish line in the Arima Kinen last year was World Premiere, another son of Deep Impact and now 4 years old. World Premiere followed winner Lys Gracieux and runnerup Saturnalia, and with both the latter absent, World Premiere could well be set for the Arima winner's circle and his second Grade 1 victory following the 2019 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger). Last out, he returned after 11 months off and scored a sixth-place finish in the Japan Cup only 0.8 seconds behind Almond Eye. Set for the ride is Yutaka Take who is gunning for his fourth win of the Arima Kinen since his debut in 1987 and his first since winning aboard Kitasan Black in 2017.

Curren Bouquetd'or: The same age as Chrono Genesis, the Deep Impact-sired Curren Bouquetd'or followed the former over the finish line in the Queen Cup, the Shuka Sho and the Kyoto Kinen, but beat her rival in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), the longest of the four races and an indication that distance suits her. Although she last visited the winner's circle in February 2019, Curren Bouquetd'or has missed the Top 3 only once in the seven starts since. That was last out in the Japan Cup, where she finished fourth, behind Almond Eye, 2020 Triple Crown winner Contrail and by a nose behind 2020 filly triple crown winner Daring Tact. She is 2-2-4 in her three starts of the year and will go to the gate relatively fresh. Jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, who has the most Arima Kinen wins (four wins) among jockeys currently riding, will be in the saddle.

Authority: A son of Triple Crown winner Orfevre, the 3-year-old colt Authority has won four of his six starts thus far. Sidelined with a fracture suffered while winning the Grade 2 TV Tokyo Hai Aoba Sho in May, he returned to win by a length and a half the 2,500-meter Grade 2 Copa Republica Argentina at Tokyo in early November. Further improvement is expected and his 1-5-3 record at Nakayama and wins at both 2,400 and 2,500 meters bode well for this race. As a 3-year-old, he will also have the advantage of being saddled with only 55 kg, which is also, however, the weight Chrono Genesis will carry.

Lucky Lilac: Another Orfevre progeny is Lucky Lilac, now 5 years old, winner of four Grade 1 races, including back-to-back runs in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, last year at Kyoto, this year at Hanshin. She has had a full year at home following her second place in the Hong Kong Vase last year. Three of her five starts in 2020 were at Grade 1 and saw her post 1-6-1. Those include a first in the Osaka Hai, a neck ahead of Chrono Genesis. Lucky Lilac is also getting a new partner, jockey Yuichi Fukunaga, who surprisingly has yet to win the Arima Kinen.

Others to keep an eye on are:

Mikki Swallow sat out the top-level competitions in 2019 but returned for two this year, a third in the Tenno Sho (Spring) and a seventh in the Japan Cup. Primed, happy over distance, and with three wins and two seconds from nine starts at Nakayama, he should not be underrated.

Kiseki was fifth here both last year and in 2018 and though he has remained winless this year, he has two seconds in Graded races, including the Takarazuka Kinen.

Loves Only You hasn't won since the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) six races back but she hasn't been far off the mark and has missed the Top 3 only twice. She has topped both Chrono Genesis and Curren Bouquetd'or in Grade 1 company. Only 0.1 seconds off the winner in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup last out, she's not one to ignore.

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Japan: 2-Year-Olds Tackle Classic Distance In Saturday’s Hopeful Stakes

The year 2020 goes out with a bang this coming weekend, which will be a 'double' Grade 1 weekend at Nakayama Racecourse, kicking off with the Hopeful Stakes on Saturday (Dec. 26). The race for 2-year-olds (excluding geldings) was made a Grade 1 contest in 2017, and gives the young colts a chance to test their ability over 2,000 meters (1 1/4 miles), with a view to running in next year's Classics, the first of which for colts is run over the same course and distance as the Hopeful Stakes, on the inner turf track at Nakayama.

There have been 18 nominations for a maximum 18 runner field, as the competition heats up to follow in the footsteps of some big-name winners of the race that have included the likes of Victoire Pisa (2009), Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia (2012), Rey de Oro (2016), and just last year Contrail, to name but a few.

Here's a look at some of the colts expected to make the starting line-up:

Danon the Kid: The unbeaten colt by Just a Way ran out a good winner of the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes last time, when he was sent off favorite. He won his only other race on his debut at Hanshin in June over 1,800 meters. Trainer Takayuki Yasuda, who made headlines in Hong Kong recently with Danon Smash, might have another big race success here. He was pleased with Danon the Kid's recent work at Ritto Training Center.

“The jockey said the horse was relaxed, and I thought he was moving well during that piece of training,” said the trainer.

Yoho Lake: Another colt who lays his unbeaten record on the line here is the Northern Farm bred Yoho Lake. By Deep Impact, he's been favorite in both his races so far, and his latest win came in the Shigiku Sho over 2,000 meters at Kyoto in October, when the soft ground wasn't an issue for him. Jockey Yutaka Take will ride him in this next race.

Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi commented: “He worked well recently on the woodchip course at Ritto, and picked up well from the third and fourth corners. I think he'll be well suited by the 2,000 meters at Nakayama.”

Orthoclase: The well bred colt by Epiphaneia out of Marialite would certainly please trainer Takashi Kubota if he can continue winning in the style of his dam, who has provided the trainer with his two Grade 1 victories to date. Coming off a win in the Listed Ivy Stakes over 1,800 meters at Tokyo in October, Orthoclase will be ridden by the jockey that won on him in his debut race at Sapporo in August, this year's champion rider Christophe Lemaire.

Land of Liberty: An easy winner last time in the Fuyo Stakes over the Hopeful Stakes course and distance in October, the Deep Impact colt bred at Shadai Farm will endeavor to give jockey Kosei Miura a well deserved first JRA G1 victory. He's ridden the horse in his two career wins from the same number of starts, and connections will be hoping the winning streak can continue.

Admire Sage: Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi could well have two runners in the race, with Admire Sage by no means looking like his second string here. The Duramente colt posted a strong final three-furlong time (33.4 seconds) in his last race, the Kigiku Sho over 2,000 meters at Hansin in November, which he won to make it two wins from two starts.

Titleholder: Another colt by Duramente, his earnings are already about equal to his sale price at the 2018 Select Sale. Jockey Keita Tosaki has ridden him in both his races so far, winning on the horse's debut over 1,800 meters at Nakayama in October, and finishing second to Danon the Kid in the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes.

Chevalier Rose: It's three starts two wins for Chevalier Rose, a colt by Deep Impact. He won his last race, the Listed Hagi Stakes over 1,800 meters at Kyoto in October, as well as winning on his debut at Hanshin in June. He's trained by Hisashi Shimizu, who enjoyed seven Grade 1 successes with Kitasan Black. Chevalier Rose worked under jockey Yuichi Kitamura at Ritto on the 16th, and posted a six-furlong time of 81.2 seconds, finishing off the final furlong in 12.0 seconds.

“He moved well in that piece of work and his times were good. The jockey also reported him to be in good condition,” said the trainer.

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