joe hernandez stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup: 2021 Preps For Kentucky Derby, Oaks Get Under Way

One year ago, an Into Mischief colt with just a maiden victory to his credit began his march toward glory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and, eventually, the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic and a likely Horse of the Year title. The colt, Authentic, scored by 7 3/4 lengths in the G3 Sham Stakes as the 6-5 favorite for trainer Bob Baffert.

This year, another son of the Spendthrift Farm stallion trained by Baffert will make his sophomore debut in Saturday's Sham as an even heavier favorite. Life Is Good, who scored in his debut on Nov. 22 at Del Mar by 9 1/2 lengths, was made the 2-5 favorite as he faces four others (including a stablemate) in the one-mile Sham, a race that will be worth 10-4-2-1 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby to the top four finishers.

Santa Anita will also be offering a qualifying points race for the Kentucky Oaks in Sunday's G2 Santa Ynez Stakes for newly turned 3-year-old fillies. Baffert holds the aces there, with four of the seven runners entered from his stable.

Here's a brief look at the weekend's graded stakes (all times Eastern):

Friday, Jan. 1

6:32 p.m. – $200,000 Joe Hernandez Stakes at Santa Anita

The new 6 1/2-furlong turf chute gets used in this G2 sprint for older runners and this race looks wide open with trainer Peter Miller and Doug O'Neill each having a formidable duo. Miller starts defending Hernandez winner Texas Wedge (when the race was at 5 1/2 furllongs) and recent Churchill Downs $62,500 claim Hembree, a turf veteran with seven lifetime wins from 39 starts. O'Neill has Blitzkrieg, winner of the G3 American at a mile, and the always dangerous Wildman Jack. Don't overlook John Sadler-trained Chaos Theory, who usually comes flying late.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA010121USA7-EQB.html

Saturday, Jan. 2

6:35 p.m. – $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita

Count Again showed a strong stretch kick winning the G2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar Nov. 29 in his Southern California debut for Phil D'Amato after a solid season north of the border for trainer Gail Cox at Woodbine, where he won the G2 Singspiel. Longshot players might like Cleopatra's Strike, a close second in this race in both 2019 and 2020 when trained by D'Amato. The 8-year-old Smart Strike gelding was claimed for $62,500 last out by trainer Bob Hess Jr., who gives the mount to the comebacking Hall of Fame rider Kent Desormeaux.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA010221USA7-EQB.html

7:05 p.m. – $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita

The Into Mischief colt Life Is Good earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in his debut at Del Mar going 6 1/2 furlongs, putting him head and shoulders in that category above his four rivals in here. But this race goes around two turns, and until a horse tries stretching out, you never know whether they can get the added distance.John Shirreffs-trained Parnelli does have two-turn experience and appears to have the bet upset chance.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA010221USA8-EQB.html

Sunday, Jan. 3

7:00 p.m. – $200,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita

One of four Baffert entries, Kalypso was overtaken in deep stretch by stablemate Varda last out in the G1 Starlet at Los Alamitos after inheriting the lead when a third Baffert runner, heavy favorite Princess Noor, was suddenly pulled up. Kalypso set the pace that day and drops back to seven furlongs here, a distance the Brody's Cause filly might prefer. Kentucky Oaks points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA010321USA8-EQB.html

The post Weekend Lineup: 2021 Preps For Kentucky Derby, Oaks Get Under Way appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘These Idiots Think That Is Going To Move The Needle’: Peter Miller Against California Stakes Lasix Ban

Trainer Peter Miller expressed his frustration with the 2021 ban of Lasix in all California stakes races in an interview with the Blood-Horse this week, as he is preparing to run both Texas Wedge and Hembree in Friday's Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf at Santa Anita. Neither horse has ever run without Lasix, according to Equibase.

Miller said asking the six and 7-year-olds (respectively) to do so is “inhumane,” because Lasix helps to prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH).

Miller believes the Lasix ban in California stakes races was enacted as a response to anti-horse racing activists in the state, and argued that images of horses visibly bleeding from the nostrils will be now be publicized by those same groups.

“Talk about just shooting yourself in the foot. These idiots think that is going to move the needle. It's going to move it the wrong way,” Miller said. “The people that like horse racing like it. People that don't—Lasix doesn't matter.”

Wildman Jack Has 10 New Year’s Day Foes In Joe Hernandez Stakes At Santa Anita

W.C. Racing's homebred Wildman Jack, a graded stakes winning 5-year-old gelding by 2013 Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, heads a wide-open field of 11 older horses in Friday's New Year's Day feature, the Grade II, $200,000 Joe Hernandez Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs over the Santa Anita turf in Arcadia, Calif.

Most recently seventh, beaten three lengths after taking the lead turning for home in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 7, Wildman Jack, who is trained by Doug O'Neill, was a big second, beaten one length two starts back in the 5 ½ furlong turf Eddie D Stakes here on Sept. 25.

A nose winner of the G3 Daytona Stakes five starts back on May 23, 2020, Wildman Jack has a win and two seconds from three tries over the Santa Anita turf and like the rest of the field, he'll be running out of Santa Anita's newly christened turf chute for the first time on Friday.

Out of the Orientate mare Orientatious, Wildman Jack is 12-4-3-1 overall with earnings of $439,005.

Other prominent contenders include trainer Graham Motion's venerable Irish-bred True Valour, who is based at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland and will be will be making his 30th career start at age seven. No stranger to Santa Anita, True Valour, who was based in Southern California with Simon Callaghan for parts of three racing seasons beginning in 2018, he's a two time graded stakes winner going one mile over the local lawn from nine tries.

Although primarily a router throughout his career, True Valour transitioned to sprinting two starts back, taking a 6 ½-furlong classified allowance over Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta on Nov. 14 and he comes off a solid third in an ungraded six furlong turf stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 28.

Owned by R.L. Johnson, True Valour is 29-6-2-8 overall with earnings of $462,237.

In addition to Wildman Jack, Doug O'Neill will also be represented by Blitzkrieg, a winner of the G3 American Stakes here five starts back who will be shortening up out of three consecutive turf routes. Owned by R3 Racing, LLC and Calara Farms, Blitzkrieg has four wins from 11 tries over the Santa Anita turf and he has earnings of $411,457 from an overall mark of 25-6-1-1.

Hronis Racing's classy Encoder, idle since February 1 for John Sadler, rates a huge chance with Tyler Baze engaged to ride. A first-out five-furlong turf maiden winner at Del Mar in August 2019, he followed that up with a game head victory in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf on Sept. 1, 2019.

A well beaten fifth on dirt in the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes Feb. 1, he pressed the early pace en route to a half-length score in the one-mile turf Eddie Logan Stakes two starts back on Dec. 29, 2019. Back on his preferred surface on Friday, Encoder should plenty tough while attentive to the pace.

The Joe Hernandez is named in honor of the original voice of Santa Anita, who called more than 15,000 consecutive races from Dec. 25, 1934 until he collapsed while calling his final race on January 27, 1972.

JOE HERNANDEZ STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS

IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 9 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Texas Wedge—Flavien Prat—120
P R Radio Star—Juan Hernandez—120
Encoder—Tyler Baze—120
Hembree—Joel Rosario—120
True Valour—Drayden Van Dyke—120
Blitzkrieg—Victor Espinoza—122
Wildman Jack—Abel Cedillo—122
Chaos Theory—Umberto Rispoli—122
Oiseau de Guerre—Ruben Fuentes—120
Mesut—Mike Smith—120
Ohio—Ricky Gonzalez—120

The post Wildman Jack Has 10 New Year’s Day Foes In Joe Hernandez Stakes At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post