santa anita park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Private Mission Shortens Up, Will Attempt To Rebound In La Brea

Two-time graded stakes winner Private Mission cuts back in distance and heads a field of seven sophomore fillies going seven furlongs in Sunday's Grade 1, $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita. One of six graded stakes, three of them Grade 1's, the La Brea will no doubt command considerable attention on Santa Anita's Winter Spring Opening Day card, which is comprised of 11 races. With admission gates opening at 9 a.m., first post time on Sunday is at 11 a.m.

Although she showed good early speed, Private Mission tired badly to be distanced by 37 ¼ lengths at odds of 10-1 in her most recent start, the G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at a mile and one eighth on Nov. 6. A two-time winner sprinting, Private Mission, who is trained by Bob Baffert, was on a three-game roll heading into the Breeders' Cup, having won the G2 Zenyatta Stakes here on Oct. 3 and the G3 Torrey Pines at Del Mar Aug. 21.

Buy red-hot sire Into Mischief, Private Mission is owned by Baoma Corporation and will be ridden for the fourth consecutive time by Flavien Prat. A first-out winner sprinting at two, Private Mission has four wins from six starts and has earnings of $256,800.

John Sadler's Livingmybestlife is a front-running sort who comes off a pair of ungraded stakes wins, her most recent the one mile Seashell Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 3. Owned by Hronis Racing, Livingmybestlife registered an 88 Beyer Speed Figure in taking the six furlong Lucky Spell Stakes at Los Alamitos two starts back on Sept. 24 and earned an 85 Beyer in winning the Seashell.

A Florida-bred by the Yes It's True stallion The Big Beast, Livingmybestlife was claimed by Sadler out of her first start, a second place finish for maiden $50,000 at Oaklawn Park on April 8. With three sprint wins to her credit, Livingmybestlife has four wins and a two seconds from seven overall starts as she tackles graded company for the first time with regular rider Juan Hernandez up.

In addition to Private Mission, Baffert will also send out Kalypso, a winner of the G2 Santa Ynez Stakes here in her first start of the year four starts back on Jan. 3. Idle since well beaten in the G2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs April 30, this daughter of Brody's Cause will no doubt show good speed off the bench. Owned by David Bernsen, LLC and Gainesway Farm, Kalypso will be ridden for the first time by John Velazquez.

THE GRADE 1 LA BREA WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 11 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT

Canoodling—Roimes Chirinos—120
Eddie's New Dream—Mario Gutierrez—120
Kalypso—John Velazquez—122
Private Mission—Flavien Prat—122
Missy P.—Mike Smith—120
Brilliant Cut—Jose Ortiz–120
Livingmybestlife—Juan Hernandez—120

First post time for an 11-race card on Opening Day, Sunday is at 11 a.m.

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Prat Sticks With Untested Flightline For Sunday’s Malibu Stakes

Unbeaten in two starts by a combined 26 lengths, John Sadler's freakishly good Flightline makes his stakes debut as he faces six sophomores going seven furlongs in Santa Anita's traditional Opening Day headliner, the Grade 1, $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes on Sunday.

A heartbreak nose loser of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6, Mark Glatt's Dr. Schivel, who had been unbeaten in three starts this year, will try to make his case for Eclipse Sprinter of the year honors as he seeks his third career Grade 1 victory. Throw in Bob Baffert's Triple Tap, who like Flightline, is unbeaten in two starts and making his first stakes appearance, and Runhappy Malibu appears to have the makings of an instant classic.

A bay colt by Tapit out of the Indian Charlie mare Feathered, Flightline earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure in his six furlong debut here on April 24, a race he won by 13 ¼ lengths. Idle until Sept. 5, Sadler turned him loose in a six furlong allowance at Del Mar, a race he won by 12 ¾ lengths and in which he earned an astronomical 114 Beyer.

In what is no doubt a resounding endorsement, Flavien Prat, Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Riding champ three out of the past five years, has opted to stick with Flightline over both Dr. Schivel and Triple Tap. Owned by Hronis Racing, LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, Summer Wind Equine, LLC, Siena Racing, LLC and Woodford Racing, LLC, Flightline, who was bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine and fetched $1 million as a Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling in 2019, will no doubt be the focus of the racing world on Sunday.

A winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in his fourth start at age two, Dr. Schivel entered the Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 on the heels of a pair of graded stakes wins going six furlongs—the Grade 1 Bing Crosby on July 31 and the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 2, a race he dominated by 3 ¼ lengths.

Off at 4-1 in the Breeders' Cup Sprint with Prat aboard, Dr. Schivel got a perfect stalking trip from his outside post, took command a furlong out and in a desperate finish, was nailed on the money by longshot Aloha West, only to be back in front on the gallop-out past the wire. With Prat, who had been a perfect four for four on Dr. Schivel, opting to ride Flightline, Juan Hernandez, who guided the son of Violence to a 5 ¾ length maiden win in his third career start on Aug. 8, 2020, has the call.

Owned by Red Baron's Barn, LLC and Rancho Temescal, Dr. Schivel, who earned a 100 Beyer in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, is well seasoned, with an overall mark of 8-5-2-1 and earnings of $876,000.

A winner of a record four Malibu Stakes, Bob Baffert will send out Triple Tap. The colt will no doubt command considerable respect and be ridden for the first time by John Velazquez, who has committed to ride full-time at Santa Anita this winter. Owned by his breeders, Summer Wind Equine, Triple Tap, like Flightline, was an impressive first-out maiden winner who was then idle for several months prior to making his second start.

A 4 ¼ length maiden winner going seven furlongs at 1-5 on March 13, Triple Tap came back running on Nov. 5, taking a six furlong allowance by 2 ¼ lengths while earning a 97 Beyer as the 9-5 favorite. By Tapit out of the Yankee Gentleman mare Littleprincessemma, Triple Tap appears primed for a top effort.

THE RUNHAPPY MALIBU WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 10 of 11 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Baby Yoda—Jose Ortiz—120
Timeless Bounty—Umberto Rispoli—120
Stilleto Boy—Kent Desormeaux—120
Dr. Schivel—Juan Hernandez—124
Flightline—Flavien Prat—120
Team Merchants—Mario Gutierrez—120
Triple Tap—John Velazquez–120

The Runhappy Malibu, to be run for the 75th time, is one of six graded stakes on Opening Day. Special early first post time is at 11 a.m., with admission gates opening at 9 a.m.

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Retiring Art Sherman To Be Honored By Santa Anita Park On Sunday

Art Sherman, racing's David who slew the game's Goliaths with an unlikely slingshot named California Chrome, will be honored by Santa Anita Sunday on the occasion of his retirement at 84 after a career as a jockey and trainer spanning six decades.

Sherman left the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn when he was seven years old, later fleecing contemporaries in the jocks' room playing gin rummy at old Jamaica Race Course in the late 1950s as the standby rider on the New York circuit, and later still becoming a successful trainer, winning 2,261 races.

In either case, it's been a wild ride.

“There are some things Faye (his wife approaching 60 years) and I want to do, and right now I'm closing down my barn (at Los Alamitos) where I've got a lot of tack and the kids are coming for the holidays,” Sherman said when asked his immediate plans now that the reality of retirement has taken hold.

“I just sold my place in Cypress (near Los Alamitos, Sherman's training headquarters and home of California Chrome during his glory years), so I'm moving out of there. I've got a lot of things on the agenda right now.”

One that fortunately is not, thankfully, is his health.

Sherman, who turns 85 next Feb. 17, had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his bladder in March 2019 but is now cancer-free.

“That issue is behind me,” he said, “so that's great.

“I don't know what more I can say about California Chrome. Everything's been written about him. I was on two radio shows recently, one in Kentucky, TVG did a nice piece on me that will be aired before long and (Los Alamitos owner Ed) Doc Allred threw a catered party for me attended by about 100 people.”

Sherman saddled his last horse Dec. 10 at Los Alamitos, 9-1 shot Alchemy finishing seventh under jockey Wayne Barnett, but win or lose, Sherman maintains a level head, a trait which has helped him succeed on a long and daunting road and established him as one of game's most revered ambassadors.

“Art is a great guy who follows the Shoemaker model,” said Brian Beach, former agent for Victor Espinoza who rode California Chrome to victories in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and through 2016 when he won his second Horse of the Year title.

“He doesn't get too high on the highs and too low on the lows, and we had a couple major losses, losing the Belmont in pursuit of the Triple Crown and losing the Breeders' Cup Classic.

“Art was always the same. He never blamed Victor, was easy to deal with and a straight shooter. He's just a lovely man.”

Recalled Sherman: “I've met a lot of nice people all over the world, meeting all the foreign owners and trainers in Dubai, was next to the Queen at Royal Ascot. These are things you will always remember.

“Chrome stands in Japan (at Arrow Stud, 2021 fee for live foal was $36,000) and I've been invited to see him, although this is a bad time to travel.

“Maybe we can go next year if things loosen up a bit, but right now it's a real hassle to travel abroad.”

California Chrome turns 11 on Jan. 1. He won 16 of 27 starts earning $14,752,650 and was viscerally the most popular horse of his generation. Hard to fathom now, but “The People's Horse” is largely credited for luring 72,811 fans to see him run in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 5, 2016.

“Things are coming to an end,” Art mused. “We've seen all the best of this game, all the great horses that ran at Santa Anita when I was young, but racing is different now.”

Sherman developed California Chrome into a masterpiece of form and function achieving international success and acclaim, contributing mightily to positive exposure the game sorely needs, and it paid off for him.

And for racing.

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Sadler ‘Feeling Very Good’ About Undefeated Flightline’s Chances In Malibu

Flightline was racing's worst-kept secret when he made his debut on April 24 at Santa Anita.

The precocious $1 million son of Tapit was favored at 9-10 and won the six-furlong sprint by 13 ¼ lengths. His salient supporters pressed their luck at 20 cents to the dollar next out, an optional claiming race also at six furlongs, this at Del Mar Sept. 5

He won by 12¾ lengths.

Next up: the prestigious Grade 1 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita on opening day Sunday, Dec. 26.

Toward that goal, Flightline worked five furlongs at 6:30 Sunday morning in 1:00.20 under regular rider Flavien Prat.

“He went real well in a minute flat and galloped out (seven furlongs) in (one) 25,” said trainer John Sadler. “He just cruised around there in his last work before the race.

“I'm feeling very good about his chances,” added Sadler, who conditions the bay colt for owners Hronis Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds. “We're hoping it's Christmas on the 26th.

“He's trained up to the race super; we've had our eye on the Malibu for a couple of months. It's the right conditions, 3-year-olds, a Grade 1 at seven-eighths which we think is going to be a good distance for him.

“It will be his first time against better horses but we're excited about the challenge.”

On paper, the obvious competition would appear to come from Dr. Schivel, winner of five straight races including two Grade 1's before suffering an excruciating nose defeat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6.

Flightline will be the Malibu's post time favorite, with Dr. Schivel, favored in four of eight starts, relegated to second choice.

Prat has ridden Dr. Schivel in his last five starts and Flightline in his two races, but stays with the latter in the Malibu.

“That's a definite,” Sadler said.

Dr. Schivel worked this morning for the Malibu, going a half-mile in 48.20 for trainer Mark Glatt. Opening Day entries were taken this morning and will be available later in the day at santaanita.com

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