Tag: Racing

With an Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old male potentially at stake on opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, nominations for Santa Anita's prestigious Grade 1, $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes and five other graded offerings closed Monday with a total of 104 horses nominated for the Malibu, Grade 1 La Brea, Grade 1 American Oaks and three Grade 2 races—the Santa Anita Mathis Mile, the American Oaks and the San Antonio Stakes.

Although the Steve Asmussen-trained Epicenter could be the early Eclipse voting favorite for top 3-year-old male, Bob Baffert's Taiba, a winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, will be seeking to become the only sophomore on this year's ballot to win three Grade 1 stakes in 2022. The Malibu, which will be contested at seven furlongs, is restricted to 3-year-olds.

A solid group of 15 horses have been nominated to the Malibu, which will be run for the 75th time. In addition to likely favorite Taiba, Doug O'Neill's three-time stakes winner, California-bred Slow Down Andy, who comes off a tremendous third place finish behind Cody's Wish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 5, will be seeking his first Grade 1 win and is considered definite for the Malibu.

Other Malibu contenders include Richard Mandella's Forbidden Kingdom, a daylight winner of both the seven furlong, Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes and 1 1/16 miles Grade 2 San Felipe earlier this year, Michael Maker's up and coming Seal Beach, who comes off an impressive 3 ¼ length allowance win going seven panels at Churchill Downs Nov. 25 and another “now horse,” the Dallas Stewart-trained Strava, who galloped to a 6 ½ length score going a one-turn mile in the slop at Churchill on Nov. 27.

“We are very pleased with the response to our stakes nominations for opening day and it's especially gratifying to see the interest shown by those trainers from the East Coast and Midwest,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. “Santa Anita's opening day is viewed as the start of the racing season and the Racing Office here is excited to deliver to all of our fans, bettors and stakeholders an incredible card on Dec. 26.”

Also contested at seven furlongs, the Grade 1, $300,000 La Brea, which will be run for the 50th time on Dec. 26, attracted 18 sophomore filly nominations, with Baffert accounting for four of them, including Midnight Memories, who has been idle since winning Santa Anita's Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes Oct. 2. Baffert has also nominated top California-bred sprinter Fun to Dream, Grade 3 stakes winner Under the Stars and lightly raced speedster Ganadora.

With several out-of-state fillies nominated, trainer Rudy Rodriguez could be very dangerous with his Florida-bred Hot Peppers. A Grade 3 winner July 9 at Belmont Park, Hot Peppers was subsequently second in the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 6 and has been idle since finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Prioress at six furlongs Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

A winner of the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks July 2, John Terranova's Midnight Stroll, most recently third going seven furlongs in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 22, is nominated and appears to be a solid fit.

The Grade 1, $300,000 American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and one quarter on turf, generated 20 nominations and like the Malibu and La Brea, looms as the final Grade 1 opportunity of the year for those choosing to run.

First run at Hollywood Park in 2002, the Grade 1 American Oaks, run at Santa Anita since 2014, attracted 20 nominations, with the Mark Glatt-trained Bellstreet Bridie ranking very high in what would be her second stateside start.

Bred and raced in England through her first 12 starts, winning three while running second four times and third on three occasions, Bellstreet Bridie has the unusual distinction of shortening up in distance to a mile and a quarter, as she comes off a tremendous 4 ¼ length score in Del Mar's Grade 3 Red Carpet Stakes at a mile and three eighths on turf Nov. 24.

Dangerous on any surface but especially turf, leading trainer Phil D'Amato has nominated six fillies to the Dec. 26 Oaks, with Irish-bred Rhea Moon looming as a major contender. Idle since taking Santa Anita's Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at one mile on turf Oct. 29, Rhea Moon has won three out of her last four starts and has demonstrated a solid turf of foot at middle distances.

Turf king Chad Brown has nominated lightly raced Irish-bred Salimah, who kicked clear in an ungraded stakes to win by three lengths going 1 1/16 miles over a yielding turf at Aqueduct Nov. 13 and would be seeking her third win in a row.

Maryland-based Sparkle Blue is another potential eastern shipped who rates a big look in the Oaks as she comes off a 2 ½ length win for Graham Motion in a Grade 3 stakes going 1 1/16 miles over a good turf at Keeneland Oct. 28.

The Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Mathis Mile, for 3-year-olds on turf, attracted 15 nominations, the Grade 2, $200,000 San Antonio, for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles, has 16 noms, while the Grade 2, $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes shows 20 nominations for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Entries for opening day at Santa Anita will be taken on Dec. 21. Fan are advised there will be early first post time on Monday, Dec. 26 at 11 a.m.

For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Santa Anita: Taiba Tops 104 Nominations For Six Opening Day Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It's the turn of the 2-year-old colts this coming Sunday (December 18), when the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes will be run at Hanshin Racecourse, the final big race of the year at the Kansai track.

There are 19 nominations for this year's race, which will have a maximum 18 runner field.

Just three first favorites have won the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in the last ten years, with Salios being the last one to win in 2019. Horses trained at the Miho training center have won five times in the past decade, and foreign jockeys have also won five times in that same time span, with three victories going to Mirco Demuro. Record time for the race is 1:32.3 seconds set by Grenadier Guards in 2020. This year's winner's check is JPY70 million (approximately US$520,000).

This week's big race will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Hanshin, with a post time of 15.40 in Japan.

Here's a look at some of this year's 2-year-old colts taking on the race:

Danon Touchdown: There's a lot to like about the half-brother to Danon the Kid, and trainer Takayuki Yasuda will be doing his utmost to bring out the best in the JPY264 million (US$1.95 million) purchase at the 2021 Select Sale. The colt won on his debut at Chukyo in October, and finished second in his only other race, the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, run over the course and distance of this Sunday's race.

Trainer Takayuki Yasuda said: “He's been showing a good turn of foot at the finish in his training.”

All Parfait: The colt by Real Steel is two wins from three starts, and is coming off a win in the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes over the mile at Hanshin in November.

Jockey Takuya Ono has ridden the horse in all his races and commented on the horse: “He's coming along nicely, but he has to transport over to the track, so I don't want to overdo things with him. He found a good rhythm in the race last time after starting from a wide gate, and was strong in the finish.”

Obamburumai: Trainer Keiji Yoshimura is looking for just his second JRA Grade 1 win and the colt by Discreet Cat looks to have a good chance to help him achieve that. Unbeaten in two starts, he caused a bit of an upset last time, when going off the tenth favorite and winning the Grade 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo in November. On the woodchip course at Ritto last week, working with two other horses, he posted a six furlong time of 83.1 seconds, with a final furlong time of 11.7 seconds. No stranger to Grade 1 wins, Christophe Lemaire will ride Obamburumai this Sunday.

Dolce More: The colt by Rulership is another that comes to the race unbeaten and was last seen winning the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October.

Trainer Naosuke Sugai said: “He doesn't really stand out in training, but his times are certainly good enough. He experienced racing right-handed at Sapporo and he's fine racing among other horses, even though last time he ran in second throughout the race.”

Ryusei Sakai has been booked to ride the colt for the first time.

Labeling: The British bred colt by Frankel has just had the one start, but he won a maiden race in good style at Tokyo over a mile in November, chalking up a final three furlong time in that race of 33.1 seconds.

Trainer Yuichi Shikato commented on the prospects of Labeling: “There hasn't been long between races, but he's in very good shape. He ran a good race last time, and with the ability he seems to have, I'll look forward to things from now.”

Corpus Christi: Trained by Mitsumasa Nakauchida, the colt by Epiphaneia is also unbeaten in two starts, and is coming off a win at Hanshin over 1,400 meters in November. With jockey Yuga Kawada booked for Danon Touchdown, visiting jockey David Egan has the ride on Corpus Christi.

Assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga said: “Since returning from the farm, the horse seems nice and relaxed, and we hope he'll be in best condition going into the race.”

Trainer Nakauchida took out last Sunday's Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies with Liberty Island, and he won this race in 2020 with Grenadier Guards, who holds the record time for the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. The trainer has such a good record at the track, and so there's every chance he can claim another JRA Grade 1 victory this week too.

From Dusk: The American bred colt by Bolt d'Oro finished second last time to Obamburumai in the Grade 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,400 meters at Tokyo in November, and will be looking to stay an extra furlong for the first time in this next race. It was Yutaka Take who won last year's Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes on Do Deuce, and he has been booked to ride From Dusk.

The post Japan: Bolt D’Oro Colt From Dusk Among 19 Hopefuls In Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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With an ever-increasing demand for more turf racing nationwide, Santa Anita Park is now positioned to offer fans and horsemen three distinct turf options at sprint and route distances—from its one-of-a-kind Camino Real Hillside Turf, 6 ½ furlong (flat) turf chute and main turf oval, all of which promise to afford fans and horsemen an unmatched set of racing and gambling opportunities this winter beginning on Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day, Monday, Dec. 26.

Although weather is always a concern in carding races on turf, Santa Anita could now card perhaps more than half of its races on grass this winter.

“Having 10 different options over three courses gives us great flexibility in writing turf races here at Santa Anita,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita's Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. “Over the past several years, the demand for turf racing has grown substantially. Whereas it comprised about 30 percent of our racing product 10 years ago, turf racing now accounts for more than half the races we offer. This is in large part a testament to the great work our Track Supervisor Jesse Martinez and his crew have done to maintain our turf and keep it in great shape.

“With the Camino Real Hillside Course coming back online for the Autumn 2021 Meet and the installation of our new turf chute in late 2020, we now have the ability to do something we had never before been able to do at Santa Anita, and that is, run turf races back-to-back on any given race day. Weather permitting, we intend to use all three facets of our turf presentation, the downhill, turf chute and turf oval, as much as possible throughout the Classic Meet.”

Santa Anita's turf chute, which was installed under the direction of Track Surfaces Consultant Dennis Moore beginning in the summer of 2020, came online Dec. 26 of that year and has now proven to be an invaluable complement to the track's European-style Camino Real Turf Course, which was unveiled on Dec. 26, 1953.

The Camino Real Course features a downhill component with the only right-hand turn in American Racing as horses sprint about 6 ½ furlongs downhill. The course is also comprised of a seven furlong oval, enabling routes with a downhill start at 1 ¼ miles, 1 ½ half miles and at 1 ¾ miles. Horses routing at one mile and at 1 1/8 miles, each begin with a “flat” start.

“Our Camino Real Turf Course is truly one-of-a-kind,” said Merz. “It's as important to Santa Anita's identity as anything you can think of. Wherever you go, if racing people know you're associated with Santa Anita, they invariably talk about the beauty of the San Gabriel Mountains as a backdrop and our downhill Camino Real Turf Course, there simply isn't anything like all of this in American racing.”

With an ever-increasing number of foreign-born or raced turf horses being imported from around the world, and an increasing number of races carded on turf, Santa Anita is also well-positioned operationally, to make adjustments during the course of each race day.

“Our ability to move the inner rail has proven to be a huge factor in keeping the course in good condition,” said Merz. “The key is to be able to run as much as we can on the turf while keeping it as fresh as possible. Jesse Martinez takes regular readings from the rail out at various points on the course and the data he provides lets us know when it's time to move the inner rail and how far.

“Additionally, we now have the ability to adjust the rails on the fly, during racing, as Jesse's crew can get the entire oval done in under an hour. We typically aim to use the zero and 10 foot settings on weekends and the 20 and 30 foot settings during weekday racing. Again, weather is a big factor here, but the key to all of this is the communication Jesse and his team provide us with.

“Collectively, we all take great pride in helping to provide our fans and horsemen with what is in my opinion, the best winter turf racing in America.”

Originally introduced in the summer of 2016, Santa Anita's turf course is comprised of Bandera Bermuda hybrid turf which is overseeded with winter rye on a seasonal basis.

With entries for opening day set to be taken on Dec. 21, Santa Anita will offer a total of six graded stakes, three of them on grass, headed by the Grade I, $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and one quarter.

Additionally, a pair of Grade II, $200,000 stakes, the Santa Anita Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds and the San Gabriel, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one eighth, will also be run on turf.

Special early first post time on opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, will be at 11 a.m. For additional information, fans are encouraged to visit santaanita.com or to call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Santa Anita To Offer Three Distinct Turf Options During Winter Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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