Tag: santa anita

Tamara Back on Worktab, ‘Eager to do More’ for Mandella

Spendthrift Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), sidelined with a fractured splint bone in her left hind leg after fading to seventh as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has begun to gear up for her sophomore campaign.

The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10.

How are the initial reports so far?

“Really good,” Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey replied. “You know Richard. We certainly weren't gonna put any pressure and Richard is a guy who's gonna give them all the time they need. She's gotten a chance to heal up. She just needed time. There was a fracture of the splint bone on the hind leg. It wasn't anything too dramatic, but just needed plenty of time. She got that and hopefully is ready to move forward now.”

He continued, “He's breezed her twice now and has been very happy with what he's seen so far. He simply said that, 'she's eager to do more,' which I think is a great sign. Obviously, it will be a bit before she's ready to run, but we know she's in good hands. It's enough to be excited about her 3-year-old year.”

Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19. She ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. She set the pace and tired to finish a disappointing seventh, beaten 8 1/4 lengths, behind champion Just F Y I (Justify) while making her two-turn debut in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Nov. 3.

“We're still at a point where we're gonna just continue to let her dictate to us,” Toffey said. “She's certainly a filly who's shown enough that she can be anything. Obviously, we'd love to see her land in the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year, she's the kind of filly that could put you there. Richard will listen to her and let her tell us when she's ready to roll. Hopefully, she stays sound and we can have the kind of year that you would hope that a filly like that can give you.”

Tamara is the fourth foal from the aforementioned four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder. Beholder's colt by Curlin, now two, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale last summer. Beholder has also produced 2023 GIII Senorita S. heroine Teena Ella (War Front). She had a filly by Jackie's Warrior Feb. 13, and, according to Toffey, is currently in foal to Gun Runner for the 2025 season.

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Hernandez, O’Neill Top Standings at Santa Anita Classic Meet

Juan Hernandez topped the riding standings and Doug O'Neill was the top trainer at Santa Anita's 46-day Classic Meet which concluded Sunday.

For Hernandez, a 32-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, this was his fifth riding title at Santa Anita. He finished with 53 wins from 245 mounts and also led all jockeys in earnings with $3,683,348.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody for all the support,” Hernandez said. “All the owners, trainers and all the people on the backside. The grooms, the gallop boys, because they do a lot of hard work over there and I only do the easy part. I'm really happy and I'm going to try to keep working hard.”

O'Neill won the trainer's title with 30 wins from 163 starts. He finished one win ahead of Mark Glatt. This was O'Neill's ninth Santa Anita trainer's title and first since the 2021 Autumn Meet.

“It is all the result of just great owners, great horses, great staff and a lot of luck,” said O'Neill. “I'm just grateful to be at the Great Race Place. I'm grateful to work alongside a lot of great men and women that have the same passion that I do. I'm just happy to work alongside horses. It is truly an honor.”

Hronis Racing narrowly won the owner's title with 11 wins at the Classic Meet, one more than Reddam Racing.

Racing resumes at Santa Anita Apr. 19 with the start of the Hollywood Meet.H

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Stronghold Captures Imagination In Santa Anita Derby

Sent off as the 11-5 second choice, Rick and Sharon Waller's Stronghold (Ghostzapper) outbattled even-money favorite Imagination (Into Mischief) through the final eighth of a mile to take Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby, earning 100 points towards the GI Kentucky Derby.

The last-out winner of the GIII Sunland Derby, the homebred was beaten for speed and settled just off the pace in fourth as Tapalo (Tapiture) set the pace from Imagination and E J Won the Cup (Omaha Beach). Content to allow those up front to do the dirty work as they went a good gallop, Stronghold was held together on the turn by Antonio Fresu, who went for his mount in earnest at the quarter pole and split horses in upper stretch. As E J Won the Cup and Tapalo began to back out of it, Imagination and Stronghold were left to settle it, and though neither gave an inch, Stronghold surged by in the shadow of the wire.

“We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby,” winning trainer Phil D'Amato said. “We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he's going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.”

The win was the first at Grade I level in America for Antonio Fresu.

“I loved the way Phil D'Amato was training him the last couple of works,” the Italian said. “The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse. Still, when he hit the front, he didn't want to stay alone, he was waiting for some company. He got the job done and I want to dedicate this to my friend that passed away. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy and I want to dedicate this to him.”

A maiden winner at second asking going Churchill's one-turn mile Oct. 1, Stronghold was a distant runner-up to 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) in the GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar Nov. 19 before just getting reeled in late by Wynstock (Solomini) in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16. Sent to the Land of Enchantment for his sophomore debut, Stronghold proved too strong for his rivals at Sunland Park, taking that track's repositioned Derby by 2 1/2 widening lengths Feb. 18.

Pedigree Notes:

Hill 'n' Dale's Ghostzapper, the veteran son of Awesome Again out of Broodmare of the Year Baby Zip, may be among the elder statesmen in Kentucky's sire ranks, but he still cranks out top horses, among them 55 graded winners and 100 black-type winners worldwide. While Stronghold marks his only stakes winner of 2024 to date, Ghostzapper's other best runners most recently have included 2022-23 Eclipse champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive, 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira, 2021 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide, and triple Grade I winner Guarana. No fewer than nine of Ghostzapper's stakes winners are out of Distorted Humor mares, with GISWs Guarana and Molly Morgan, as well as 2023 GSWs Rhyme Schemes and Two Ghosts, all bred on the same cross as Stronghold, who is the first stakes winner for Distorted Humor's son Jimmy Creed as a broodmare sire. Jimmy Creed stands at Spendthrift.

Stronghold is a fourth-generation homebred for the Waller family. Eric and Sharon Waller lost his dam, Spectator, after she foaled Stronghold–her only produce–in 2021. They had sold her dam, the unraced Diva's Tribute, to Richard Barton Enterprises in 2015 at Keeneland November for just $4,700. After Spectator won the 2017 GII Sorrento S. and placed twice in Grade Is, Diva's Tribute went through Keeneland's ring again in 2022 and hammered for $175,000 to Calvin Nguyen. She produced a Maxfield filly last year for Nguyen and partner Joey Tran before being bred to Idol for 2024. –Jill Williams

 

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA DERBY-GI, $751,500, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.98, ft.
1–STRONGHOLD, 124, c, 3, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Spectator (GSW & MGISP, $323,551),
                                by Jimmy Creed
                2nd Dam: Diva's Tribute, by Henny Hughes
                3rd Dam: Swiss Diva, by Swiss Yodeler
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Eric & Sharon Waller (KY); T-Philip
D'Amato; J-Antonio Fresu. $450,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-3-0,
$827,200. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Imagination, 124, c, 3, Into Mischief–Magical Feeling,
by Empire Maker. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($1,050,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Robert E.
Masterson, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan and
Tom J. Ryan; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $150,000.
3–E J Won the Cup, 124, c, 3, Omaha Beach–Firsthand Report,
by Blame. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1
BLACK TYPE. ($150,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $95,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-Superfecta King Stable (Margolis); B-Hoolie Racing
Stable, LLC (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $90,000.
Margins: NK, 3 1/4, 4HF. Odds: 2.20, 1.00, 23.40.
Also Ran: Curlin's Kaos, Tapalo, Wynstock, Mc Vay, Tessuto.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Nothing Like Dettori, Who Wins Santa Anita Oaks on Nothing Like You in Six-Win Streak

In an event billed almost as a match race between California star fillies Kinza (Carpe Diem), a MGSW and 'TDN Rising Star' for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and Kopion (Omaha Beach), a GSW for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, it was Baffert's other entrant, Nothing Like You (f, 3, Malibu Moon–Miss Derek, by Brother Derek) who upended the GII Santa Anita Oaks in Arcadia and reported home an eased-up 7 1/2-length victress. Kinza was second, giving Baffert the exacta but suffering her first career loss, and last-out maiden winner Corposo (Vino Rosso) was third, while Kopion weakened to fourth.

Kentucky Oaks points were on the line in the Santa Anita Oaks and were offered on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10; however, both Nothing Like You and Kinza are ineligible to earn points as Baffert's horses continue to be prohibited from racing at Churchill Downs.

Winning jockey Frankie Dettori captured his fifth consecutive race of the day in the Santa Anita Oaks, which was carded as the sixth race Saturday. After finishing sixth in Race 1, Dettori gave a master class by winning Races 2-6, but he didn't stop there, taking Race 7 after the Oaks to make it six in a row. He didn't have a mount in Race 8 and finished third in Race 9, the GIII Monrovia S., and second in Race 10, the GI Santa Anita Derby. While six consecutive wins might be a career highlight for most riders, it's just another day in the iconic career of Dettori, who has been a household name since his “Magnificent Seven” in 1996, when he won all seven races on the Ascot card, including the GI Queen Elizabeth II S.

Dettori and Nothing Like You broke from the rail in the Santa Anita Oaks, immediately settling into a comfortable rhythm while a joint third as Kinza tallied early fractions of :23.42 and :46.88 up front with Kopion glued to her flank. Shuffled back to fourth at the top of the stretch, Dettori continued to bide his time until room opened on the rail and he shot through with Nothing Like You in the blink of an eye. Dettori stayed busy on the bay until the last sixteenth, when it was clear the pair would be uncatchable. They covered the 1 1 1/6 miles in 1:43.21.

“I was fully loaded at the quarter pole,” said Dettori. “I just needed a little bit of room and she took off. What can you say about Baffert? He's a genius. We have a good working relationship. He trains them and I ride them.”

Baffert added, “Without the horse, the jockey doesn't matter, but Dettori kept this filly as clean as possible… Unfortunately, when you use Dettori, you can't blame it on the jockey. He's just a phenom. He is world class and has brought his talent to every stage. He's just that good, but you have to give him the horse. And he had the horse to do it.”

Dettori first rode Nothing Like You in the Feb. 10 GIII Las Virgenes S., a race in which she was fourth behind Kinza and Kopion. Dettori specifically said the filly did not appreciate the kickback that day and he took care of keep her out of it Saturday. She had previously won three in a row, including the Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar in November and the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos in December.

Pedigree Notes:

The bedrock of the modern Spendthrift goes down to Malibu Moon, who died in 2021 of an apparent heart attack at age 24. Nothing Like You is one of 55 graded winners and 138 black-type winners for the son of A.P. Indy, but only the third for 2006 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek as a broodmare sire. The latter was last reported to be standing in Saudi Arabia.

It's a pretty safe bet to surmise not too many Hastings Racecourse runners find their foals winning graded stakes at Santa Anita, but Nothing Like You's dam, Miss Derek, was a three-time stakes winner at Hastings in Canada. Wolverton Mountain Farm, co-breeder of the Oaks winner, picked her up for $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in 2015. She produced Aqueduct's 2018 Tepin S. winner South of France (Quality Road) as her first foal, while Nothing Like You is her most recent produce. John Rogitz, part of Nothing Like You's ownership group, picked up the Oaks winner for $190,000 at the 2023 OBS April sale after she worked a furlong in :10.

 

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA OAKS-GII, $300,000, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.21, ft.
1–NOTHING LIKE YOU, 124, f, 3, by Malibu Moon
                1st Dam: Miss Derek (MSW-Can, SP-USA, $159,610),
                                by Brother Derek
                2nd Dam: Quick Text, by Tiznow
                3rd Dam: Super Seniorita, by El Baba
($67,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $20,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $190,000
2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John
Rogitz; B-Notch Hill Farm, Wolverton Mountain Farm &
Spendthrift Stallions, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Lanfranco
Dettori. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-0, $423,160.
*1/2 to South of France (Quality Road), SW, $156,005. Werk
Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kinza, 124, f, 3, Carpe Diem–Secret Wonder, by Quality Road.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($17,000 Wlg '21 FTNMIX; $30,000 Ylg '22
OBSOCT; $350,000 2yo '23 EASMAY). O-Michael Lund
Petersen; B-JD Business Ventures LLC, Brushy Hill Stable &
Carpe Diem Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Corposo, 124, f, 3, Vino Rosso–Manki, by Arch. 1ST BLACK
TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Madaket Stables LLC and
Slam Dunk Racing; B-Nick Cosato (KY); T-Peter Eurton.
$36,000.
Margins: 7HF, HF, 8. Odds: 7.20, 0.50, 12.30.
Also Ran: Kopion, Ifuaintfirsturlast.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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