Tag: santa anita park

Start Date Delayed By Bobcat Fire, Santa Anita Announces Revised Autumn Stakes Schedule

With its original start date delayed due to air quality concerns related to the Bobcat Fire, Santa Anita Park has announced a revised Autumn Meet Stakes Schedule, which will begin on Friday, Sept. 25 and will offer fans and horsemen a total of 12 stakes, 11 of them graded, over its three-day opening weekend. Prominent among these stakes offerings are a total of seven Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” Challenge Race qualifiers, which will be run Saturday and Sunday.

With first post time set for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, the Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes, for 3-year-olds and up at 5 ½ furlongs on turf and the Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes, for fillies and mares three and up at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track, will highlight the opening day card.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, a total of seven stakes, five of them Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” qualifiers, will be offered on what promises to be a blockbuster Breeders' Cup prep afternoon.

The Grade I, $300,000 Awesome Again, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one eighth (which promises to attract superstar Maximum Security), the $300,000 Rodeo Drive, for fillies and mares at a mile and one quarter on turf, the Grade I, $300,000 American Pharoah, for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, the Grade II, $200,000 Chandelier, for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes, for 2-year-olds at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, are all Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” stakes that will provide the winners of each race a fees-paid berth into their respective Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland Nov. 6 & 7.

In addition to these five Breeders' Cup Challenge Races on Saturday, Santa Anita will also present the Grade II, $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one quarter on turf and the $75,000 Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

On Sunday, two additional Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Races will be offered, the Grade II, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles and the Grade II, $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs. The Grade III, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup, to be run at the marathon distance of a mile and one half, will also share top Sunday billing.

Although Santa Anita remains closed to the general public due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fans are encouraged follow Santa Anita's live racing free of charge via santaanita.com. Those wishing to watch and wager may do so via XpressBet.com or 1stBet.com. Santa Anita's complete Autumn Meet Stakes Schedule is available at www.santaanita.com/stakes-schedule/.

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

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Likley Favorite Wildman Jack Back On Turf For Eddie D Stakes

A graded stakes winning turf sprinter who was most recently a close fourth in a Grade I sprint on dirt, trainer Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack looks like the horse to beat among a field of seven 3-year-olds and up in Friday's Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita. The Eddie D, to be run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, will serve as the main event on a 10-race Autumn Meet opening day card.

A W.C. Racing homebred 4-year-old gelding by O'Neill's 2013 Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, Wildman Jack was last seen at Santa Anita winning the Grade III Daytona Stakes three starts back on May 23.

Fresh off the best race of his career, California-bred El Tigre Terrible returns to turf for trainer Peter Miller and retains the services of Flavien Prat, who comes off another meet-leading performance at Del Mar this summer.

Named in honor of the retired all time great Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the Eddie D was run as the Morvich Stakes prior to being renamed in 2012. Delahoussaye won the 1984 Morvich aboard the Eddie Gregson-trained Tsunami Slew.

WILDMAN JACK

Owner: W.C. Racing, Inc.

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Head and head for the lead throughout, Wildman Jack, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, had to settle for fourth money when beaten 1 ½ lengths going six furlongs in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes on Aug. 1. Following his win in the Daytona here in May, Wildman Jack was off as the 3-1 favorite in a Grade II turf sprint going 5 ½ furlongs at Keeneland, but trailed throughout, finishing last by 7 ¾ lengths. With his performance in the Crosby serving as notice he's back to his best, he should be tough to beat in Friday's Eddie D.

EL TIGRE TERRIBLE

Owner: Slam Dunk Racing & Michael Nentwig

Trainer: Peter Miller

Off as the even money favorite in the state-bred Real Good Deal Stakes going seven furlongs at Del Mar July 31, this 3-year-old gelding by Smiling Tiger rallied four-wide turning for and won going away by 4 ¾ lengths. Well beaten at 7-2 two starts back in the one mile turf Oceanside Stakes July 10, he was a close second in the Desert Code Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf here June 6—which was his first start of 2020. A winner versus open company of the 2019 Speakeasy Stakes going five furlongs on turf here on Oct. 6, El Tigre Terrible, who was purchased for a bargain $18,000 out of the 2018 Barretts October Yearling Sale, has won four out of his eight starts and has banked $210,510.

THE GRADE II EDDIE D STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

  1. Wildman Jack—Abel Cedillo—126
  2. Give Me the Lute—Drayden Van Dyke–124
  3. Mr Vargas—Tyler Baze—126
  4. Grit and Curiosity—Luis Saez—124
  5. Sparky Ville—Mike Smith—126
  6. El Tigre Terrible—Flavien Prat—120
  7. Big Runnuer—Juan Hernandez—124

With the Grade II Eddie D and the Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes serving as co-feature, first post time for a 10-race card on opening day, Friday, is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Likley Favorite Wildman Jack Back On Turf For Eddie D Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Baffert-Trained Trio Tops Friday’s Chillingworth Stakes On Opening Day At Santa Anita

Bob Baffert holds a strong three-card hand in Friday's Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita, with his streaking 4-year-old Qahira, who is in search of her fourth consecutive win, rating top billing among a field of seven fillies and mares three and up going 6 ½ furlongs.

Due to air quality concerns resulting from the Bobcat Fire in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita's 2020 Autumn Meet, originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 19, will instead open this Friday, with both the Grade III Chillingworth and the Grade II Eddie D Stakes headlining a 10-race card.

Baffert will also be well represented by classy Quality Response, a restricted stakes winner at two who will be making her second start of the year on Friday and by recent restricted stakes winner Message, a 4-year-old filly that will be shortening up out of four consecutive routes.

Richard Mandella's Amuse, most recently second in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap going 6 ½ furlongs, seeks her first graded stakes win at age five and rates a solid chance.

Formerly run as the LA Woman Stakes, the Chillingworth honors the memory of longtime Oak Tree Racing Association Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth, who passed away in October, 2019 at the age of 93.

QAHIRA

Owner: Baoma Corporation

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of four out of her six career starts, Qahira, who dominated her competition by taking a 6 ½ furlong classified allowance by three lengths on Aug. 16 at Del Mar, will be making her second start of the year and will also be trying stakes competition for the first time. Although ridden last time by Abel Cedillo, top eastern rider Luis Saez, who comes to town primarily to ride Maximum Security for Baffert in Saturday's Grade I Awesome Again, will be aboard for the first time. Dating back to her 4 ¾ length first-out maiden romp on Nov. 25, 2018, she has dominated her competition by a combined 13 ¼ lengths in her four victories. With speed to spare and Saez aloft, Qahira is the horse to beat in the Chillingworth.

QUALITY RESPONSE

Owner: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of her first two starts in September of last year by a combined 12 ¾ lengths, this daughter of Quality Road was subsequently dispatched at 7-2 in the Grade I Frizette Stakes going a one turn mile at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, 2019, but finished a well beaten last and did not resurface prior to running a respectable fourth, beaten 3 ¼ lengths in second condition allowance going 5 ½ furlongs on Sept. 6 at Del Mar. With a recent race under her belt, look for big improvement.

AMUSE

Owner: Claiborne Farm, Ramona Bass, Perry Bass & Adele Dilschneider

Trainer: Richard Mandella

A game second when beaten 3 ¾ lengths in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo on Aug. 21, this 5-year-old mare by Medaglia d'Oro, who has two wins from nine starts, will be making her fifth start of the year and with two wins from three lifetime starts at Santa Anita, rates a solid chance.

THE GRADE III CHILLINGWORTH, WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 6 of 10 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

  1. Message – Flavien Prat- 124
  2. Qahira – Luis Saez – 124
  3. Into Chocolate – Umberto Rispoli – 124
  4. Mucho Amor – Juan Hernandez – 124
  5. Hang a Star – Tyler Baze – 122
  6. Unique Factor – Heriberto Figueroa – 124
  7. Amuse – Drayden Van Dyke – 122

First post time for a 10-race program on Friday is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Baffert-Trained Trio Tops Friday’s Chillingworth Stakes On Opening Day At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Due To Air Quality Concerns, Santa Anita Will Push Opening Day Back To Sept. 25

The opening day of Santa Anita's Autumn season will be pushed back a week until Friday, September 25, due to the impact of Bobcat Fire on the air quality and surrounding community.

“Our local community has been deeply impacted by the Bobcat Fire burning for more than a week in the mountains behind us,” said Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Operations for The Stronach Group. “The current weather pattern has kept the smoke in the valley and the air quality is quite poor right now. The Red Cross is using Santa Anita as the evacuation zone for people – including many of our horsemen – whose homes are less than two miles from here. As excited as we are to welcome back live racing, we are first and foremost committed to safety. This is the responsible decision to make at this time so people can plan accordingly.”

“The stakes races set for this weekend will be brought back next weekend,” said Steve Lym, Santa Anita's VP – Racing & Racing Secretary. “The smoke has impacted some training schedules, so postponing until next weekend will allow everyone a chance to be ready to go. We are planning on filling extra races throughout the meet to give our horsemen the opportunity to run their horses.”

The Opening Week now will feature a blockbuster schedule of outstanding stakes action, offering over $2-million in purse money. The stakes schedule includes seven races which are “Win and You're In” races for the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships. The stakes races originally slotted for this weekend will be run as follows: the Chillingworth on Friday, September 25, the Speakeasy on Saturday, September 26 and the Tokyo City Cup on Sunday, September 27.

Entries for Opening Day, September 25, will be drawn on Sunday, September 20, as scheduled. First post will be 12:30 p.m. PT.

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