Tag: santa anita

Beautifully Bred Under the Stars Makes the Grade in Santa Ynez

Sent off the 9-10 chalk to build on a three-length maiden victory at Los Alamitos when last seen Dec. 11, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) was made to work for it, but managed to tough out a narrow victory in Saturday's GIII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita.

Away alertly enough from the inside stall, the bay–bred on a similar cross to the one that produced Triple Crown winner American Pharoah–held her spot at the fence while being shaded three wide by pacesetting Miss Mattie B (Tonalist), with Big Shamrock (Mr. Big) poking through between. Awake At Midnyte (Nyquist) chimed in three wide at the top of the lane and appeared to have sufficient momentum to reel in the chalk, but Under the Stars sprinted powerfully through the final eighth of a mile to prevail tenaciously.

Under the Stars, a debut third as the chalk behind Awake At Midnyte Oct. 31, filled that same slot behind stablemate and next out GI Starlet S. heroine Eda (Munnings) in Del Mar's Desi Arnaz S. Nov. 13.

“When we came into this race, I was worried about the post, but she's improving,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “She's a half-sister to Bodemeister, so she has the pedigree to go further and Flavien [Prat] thinks she wants to go further also. It's nice when they're bred that well and the Coolmore gang, the ownership group, they've been real patient. I'm just glad they sent her to us.”

Pedigree Notes:

Under the Stars becomes the 40th stakes/18th graded winner for the late, great Pioneerof the Nile. This is the 302nd stakes/147th graded winner for the legendary Storm Cat as a broodmare sire. Storm Cat also appears prominently in the pedigree of Pioneerof the Nile's top two runners–Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (produced by a Yankee Gentleman mare) and champion Classic Empire (produced by a Cat Thief mare), respectively. Under the Stars is one of four black-type horses for her GSW/GISP dam, most notably responsible for GISW and multiple Classic-placed Bodemeister (Empire Maker); and MGISP Fascinating (Smart Strike). Untouched Talent has also produced colts of 2020 and 2021 by Justify. She was bred to Uncle Mo for 2022. Untouched Talent brought $5 million from Coolmore's M.V. Magnier following the Classics exploits of Bodemeister at the 2012 FTKNOV sale, which was topped by the $10-million Havre de Grace.

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA YNEZ S.-GII, $200,500, Santa Anita, 1-8, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.51, ft.
1–UNDER THE STARS, 120, f, 3, by Pioneerof the Nile
               1st Dam: Untouched Talent (GSW & GISP, $243,550), by Storm Cat
               2nd Dam: Parade Queen, by A.P. Indy
               3rd Dam: Spanish Parade, by Roberto
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O- Mrs.
John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, & Derrick Smith; B-Eaton
(KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime
Record: 4-2-0-2, $170,520. *1/2 to Bodemeister (Empire
Maker), GISW, $1,304,800; 1/2 to Himiko (American
Pharoah), SP, $177,277; 1/2 to Fascinating (Smart Strike),
MGISP, $166,320. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Awake At Midnyte, 120, f, 3, Nyquist–Midnight Union, by
Union Rags. ($85,000 RNA Wlg '19 KEENOV; $190,000 Ylg
'20 FTKOCT; $320,000 2yo '21 FTFMAR). O-Reddam Racing
LLC; B-Forty Oaks (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $40,000.
3–Miss Mattie B, 120, f, 3, Tonalist–Traffic Blimp, by
Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($10,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Westlake Racing Stable;
B-R. S. Evans (KY); T-Robert B. Hess, Jr. $24,000.
Margins: 3/4, 6HF, 6. Odds: 0.90, 4.50, 12.60.
Also Ran: Big Switch, Big Shamrock, Mimajoon.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Vox Populi Winner Hot Rod Charlie Pleases O’Neill, Prat With Saturday Breeze

One of America's top three-year-olds from 2021, trainer Doug O'Neill's Hot Rod Charlie, winner of the 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi (Voice of the People) Award, worked a half mile just prior to 12 noon at Santa Anita on Saturday in :48.52 and galloped out five furlongs under regular rider Flavien Prat in 1:02.15.

Accompanied by O'Neill's $5.2 million earner and current stable pony Lava Man, Hot Rod Charlie came on the main track via the quarter mile chute at 11:48 a.m., galloped through the stretch, broke free from Lava Man heading to the 4 ½ furlong pole and was set down at the half mile by Prat.

Hugging the rail entering the stretch, Hot Rod Charlie got the first quarter mile in :24.48 and came to the wire with his ears up.

“Charlie went really nice,” said O'Neill. “The main thing is, Flavien was very happy with him. Flavien said, 'He did it very easily.'”

Most recently second, beaten a nose as the 1-5 favorite here in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes Dec. 26, Hot Rod Charlie, who was third in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Belmont Stakes and who won the G1 Pennsylvania Derby prior to finishing fourth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 6, has amassed earnings of $2,511,200 from an overall mark of 13-3-3-3. (Although he finished first in the G1 Haskell Invitational July 17, he was disqualified to last).

Owned by Boat Racing, LLC, Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck), Roadrunner Racing and William Strauss, Hot Rod Charlie was purchased as a yearling by O'Neill's brother, Dennis, for $110,000.

Hot Rod Charlie's connections will be presented with the Vox Populi Award in a Winner's Circle ceremony following Saturday's fourth race.

The colt is expected to fly to Dubai on Jan. 17, where he will prep for the Dubai World Cup in March.

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Baffert Blue Blood Stops Santa Ynez

Coolmore's royally bred Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) looks to become the third black-type winner for her impressive dam Untouched Talent (Storm Cat) as the morning-line favorite in the GII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita Saturday. A half-brother to Classic-winning sire Bodemeister (Empire Maker), the Bob Baffert pupil was third on debut behind the re-opposing Awake At Midnyte (Nyquist) in Arcadia Oct. 31. She filled the same spot behind stablemate and eventual GI Starlet S. winner Eda (Munnings) in Del Mar's Desi Arnaz S. Nov. 13 and broke through next out with a decisive score at Los Alamitos Dec. 11.

Awake At Midnyte followed that narrow first-out graduation on Halloween with a nose second in the turf GIII Jimmy Durante S. at Del Mar Nov. 27.

George Krikorian homebred Big Switch (Mr. Big) hopes to remain undefeated as she faces open company for the first time. A debut winner against fellow Cal-breds at Del Mar Aug. 20, the dark bay captured the Golden State Juvenile Fillies S. there Nov. 5.

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Zero Tolerance Will Head Down The Hill In Sunday’s Las Cienegas

A stakes winner over the course, Zero Tolerance heads a field of eight older fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita's hillside turf in this Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes.

Vladimir Cerin's Hear My Prayer and Bob Baffert's Ginja, a pair of distaffers in good recent form, also rate big chances in what will be their initial tries down Santa Anita's unique hillside layout. Throw in Baffert's classy comebacker Beautiful Gift and John Sadler's newcomer, Gold for Kitten, as well as his veteran stakes winner Constantia, and the Las Cienegas has the look of a wide open affair.

A Kentucky-bred 4-year-old filly by Mizzen Mast, Zero Tolerance stalked the pace and rallied impressively to take the ungraded Unzip Me Stakes over the course three starts back on Oct. 3 and was subsequently a close fourth going one mile on turf in the G3 Autumn Miss Stakes on Oct. 30.

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, she sped to a 1 ¼ length win at 3-5 in a second condition allowance on Nov. 20 at Del Mar. Originally trained by Peter Miller, she'll be saddled by Ruben Alvarado on Sunday as she seeks her first graded win and her fourth overall from six starts. Owned by Custom Truck Accessories, Jason Hall, Joe Kelly and Michael Riordan, Zero Tolerance will be reunited with Flavien Prat, who was aboard for the Unzip Me win as well as a maiden score four starts back on Aug. 20.

Owned by Holly and David Wilson, Hear My Prayer has been idle since rallying for a solid third place finish, beaten three quarters of a length in the five furlong turf Senator Ken Maddy Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 5. Originally based at Gulfstream Park, Hear My Prayer made her first start for Cerin two starts back in five furlong turf classified allowance Aug. 26, a race in which she pressed the pace and prevailed by a half length.

A two-time ungraded stakes winner sprinting on turf at Gulfstream, Hear My Prayer enters the Las Cienegas as a fresh commodity with a solid resume and will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Juan Hernandez. A 5-year-old Florida-bred mare by the Yes It's True stallion The Big Beast, Hear My Prayer is 11-5-0-3 overall with earnings of $218,975.

Idle since well beaten as the 2-1 favorite in the G2 Black Eyed Susan May 14 at Pimlico, Baoma Corporation's Beautiful Gift, who was a close second in the G2 Santa Anita Oaks April 3 and a game head winner of the G3 Santa Ysabel three starts back on March 7, should be attentive to the pace coming off the bench in what will be her first try on grass.

Although ridden by John Velazquez in her last three starts, Beautiful Gift will be handled for the first time by Drayden Van Dyke on Sunday. Favored in three out of her five starts, Beautiful Gift has the class to rate a major contender.

Perhaps the biggest question mark in the field due to the fact she'll be trying turf for the first time, Ginja nonetheless is in solid form and with Mike Smith riding her back, well-spotted. In a gutty effort, she was pressed every step of the way when second, beaten a neck by her stablemate Velvet Slippers in a one mile first condition allowance Nov. 19 at Del Mar.

Owned by Jill Baffert, Ginja is a 4-year-old filly by Quality Road, out of the Forestry mare Sequoia Queen. With an overall mark of 9-1-5-1, she'll be looking for her first graded stakes win.

Idle since a close third in an ungraded stakes going a mile and one sixteenth on synthetic at Woodbine Oct. 31, Gold for Kitten, who was claimed five starts back for $50,000 at Churchill Downs May 6, has never been worse than third in six starts—winning four, and she'll get the first time services of a red hot John Velazquez. A 4-year-old filly by Kitten's Joy, she's owned by DARRS Inc.

With her last win coming five starts back in the ungraded Mizdirection Stakes going six furlongs on turf here April 17, Sadler will also be well represented by Constantia, who takes a significant drop in class off a sixth place finish going one mile on grass in the G2 Goldikova Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 6. A 5-year-old mare by Munnings, Constantia was bred in Kentucky by her owner, Keith Abrahams. Although second going 6 ½ furlongs in the G2 Monrovia Stakes four starts back on June 5, Constantia, who has four wins from 16 starts, will be making her first start down the hillside turf course.

THE GRADE 3 LAS CIENEGAS WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

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

  1. Tapwater—Joe Bravo—120
  2. Hear My Prayer—Juan Hernandez–120
  3. Constantia—Umberto Rispoli—122
  4. Quiet Secretary—Tyler Baze—120
  5. Beautiful Gift—Drayden Van Dyke—122
  6. Ginja—Mike Smith—120
  7. Zero Tolerance—Flavien Prat—122
  8. Gold for Kitten—John Velazquez–120

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m., admission gates will open at 10:30 a.m.

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