santa anita | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maxfield Headed to Big ‘Cap

Undefeated and widely considered among the top horses in training, Maxfield (Street Sense) will make his next start in Saturday's GI Santa Anita H.

The news was first reported by TVG's Christina Blacker.

“He'll head out there tomorrow,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “We're looking forward to it. The race has been on our radar for a while. At 1 1/4 miles, it's a nice race for him and the timing is good. It gives us a chance to win a Grade I. The race makes sense.”

With Maxfield being owned by Godolphin, the Mar. 27 G1 Dubai World Cup seemed like a logical spot for Maxfield, but Walsh said the connections wanted to keep him closer to home.

“We kind of wanted to keep the horse in this country,” he said. “He's still a lightly enough raced horse. We wanted to keep him here, try to make progress and get a solid year's racing out of him. We want to get a good body of racing into the horse.”

Maxfield showed his talent at the outset, winning a maiden race before capturing te GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity as a 2-year-old. But he missed out on the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the 2020 Triple Crown races and the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Classic due to some minor setbacks. In December, he returned to win the Tenacious S. at the Fair Grounds and then the GIII Mineshaft S. It was the first time in his career he was able to run in back-to-back races without a long break in between.

“It's been great,” Walsh said. “We always thought that the horse was super talented. That's been there for everyone to see. We came to New Orleans this winter and I thought it was great we were able to get those couple of runs into him. No disrespect to the horses he ran against down there, but we didn't have to face the very top horses in the country. That was a super important stepping stone for him for us to go ahead and take a step like he is going to take next Saturday. This will be a good test for him and a good experience for him to have to travel out to California.”

Walsh also provided an update on another star in his stable, Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro). After he broke his maiden by 8 1/2 lengths, he was considered a possible starter in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., but had to miss the race after coming down with a temperature. He returned to the work tab Saturday, breezing a half-mile in :48.40 at Palm Meadows.

“It was a nice work and we were really happy with him,” the trainer said. “We'll probably try to find an allowance race at Gulfstream for him in the next book and go from there. We missed working him last week, so that eliminated any chance we might have had in running him in the Fountain of Youth. At the end of the day, he's only run one time, so it would have been a big ask to go against those horses. He's a lovely horse and I think he is progressing. He's going the right way.”

The post Maxfield Headed to Big ‘Cap appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Rock Your World Packs Stretch Punch To Snare Pasadena Stakes

He may be green as grass, but that's where his promising future lies. Rock Your World, who stretched out off an impressive debut, rallied powerfully late and left no doubt about who was best in Saturday's $100,000 Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita, as he prevailed by a widening 2 ¼ lengths under Umberto Rispoli at the Arcadia, Calif., track. Trained by John Sadler, the 3-year-old colt by Candy Ride got a flat mile on turf in 1:34.39.

A joint second with favored Cathkin Peak, about 2 ½ lengths off pacesetter Commander Khai heading into the clubhouse turn, Rock Your World maintained his position up the backside and was one length off the lead three furlongs out with Cathkin Peak shuffled back a bit to his inside.

Turning for home, it appeared it would boil down to Rock Your World with Rispoli and Cathkin Peak with Flavien Prat, as they lined up two and three wide outside Commander Khai, but Rock Your World belatedly kicked into high gear a sixteenth out and the Pasadena was over as Rock Your World hit the wire full of run in an effort that suggests he'll relish added real estate.

“This horse is still really green,” said Sadler. “It's funny, we schooled him yesterday morning at 9:30 in the paddock, no problem. Today, when we put the saddle on him, tight as hell! He's got lessons to learn, but he's got a lot of talent. He was very game and he galloped out super. We love that about him.”

A 1 ¾ length maiden winner going six furlongs on turf Jan. 1, Rock Your World was the actual second choice at even money in a field of five sophomores and paid $4.20, $2.40 and $2.20.

“To be honest, I was afraid because the horse couldn't find his stride,” said Rispoli. “He's so big I was trying to get him ready to switch leads at the top of the stretch, so he missed a couple of strides. That's the reason Flavien came (inside) and had that little room to come through, (I) just opened the gap for him.”

Owned by Hronis Racing, LLC and David Talla, Rock Your World was bred in Kentucky by Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally and his wife Debra. Out of their Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker, Rock Your World fetched $650,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

With the winner's share of $60,000, Rock Your World has earnings of $96,600 from his two wins.

Irish-bred Cathkin Peak, who broke his maiden for trainer Phil D'Amato in his Southern California debut Nov. 29 and who came off a one length win in the one mile Eddie Logan Stakes here on Dec. 27, was the actual even money favorite by just $2,990 under Prat and paid $2.20 and $2.10 while finishing one length in front of Red Flag.

A winner of the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes two starts back but a disappointing fourth as the 4-5 favorite in the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity, the John Shirreffs-trained Red Flag ran a much improved race and overhauled Commander Khai by a neck on the wire. Off at 7-1 with Ricardo Gonzalez up, Red Flag paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.08, 46.72, 1:10.41 and 1:22.44.

The post Rock Your World Packs Stretch Punch To Snare Pasadena Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Candy Ride Colt Remains Unbeaten in Pasadena

PASADENA S., $100,000, Santa Anita, 2-27, 3yo, 1mT, 1:34.39, fm.
1–ROCK YOUR WORLD, 120, c, 3, by Candy Ride (Arg)
1st Dam: Charm the Maker (MSW & MGISP, $340,290),
by Empire Maker
2nd Dam: Charm the Giant (Ire), by Giant's Causeway
3rd Dam: Olympic Charmer, by Olympio
($650,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Hronis
Racing LLC & David Michael Talla; B-Ron McAnally & Deborah
McAnally (KY); T-John W. Sadler; J-Umberto Rispoli. $60,000.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $96,600. *Full to She's Our Charm,
GSP, $144,598.
2–Cathkin Peak (Ire), 124, g, 3, Alhebayeb (Ire)–Drumcliffe
Dancer (Ire), by Footstepsinthesand (GB). (€0 RNA Wlg '18
GOFNOV; €17,000 Ylg '19 GOFSPT). O-CYBT, Sterling Stables,
LLC and Michael Nentwig; B-G. Kinch (IRE); T-Philip D'Amato.
$20,000.
3–Red Flag, 120, c, 3, Tamarkuz–Surrender, by Stormy Atlantic.
($50,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $220,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP).
O-Jerome S. & Tina Moss; B-Elaine MacPherson (KY);
T-John A. Shirreffs. $12,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1, NK. Odds: 1.10, 1.00, 7.70.
Also Ran: Commander Khai, Harlan Estate. Scratched: Mac Daddy Too.
Rock Your World captured his six-panel debut in Arcadia Jan. 1 and was favored at even-money to repeat in the one-mile Pasadena S. Saturday. The $650,000 KEESEP buy kept close tabs on the leader Commander Khai (Twirling Candy) from second through a half in :46.72. Shaken up approaching the bend, Rock Your World was confronted by Cathkin Peak (Ire) (Alhebayeb {Ire}) and a brief duel ensued, but the chalk still hadn't hit his best stride. Rock Your World turned on the afterburners in the final sixteenth, powering clear to win as he pleased.
The winner's dam, Charm the Maker, is also responsible for Grade III placed She's Our Charm (Candy Ride {Arg}) in addition an unraced juvenile colt by that sire named He's Our Maker. After foaling a Curlin filly in 2020, the sister to Grade II winner Liam The Charmer (Smart Strike) was bred back to Candy Ride. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Candy Ride Colt Remains Unbeaten in Pasadena appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Medina Spirit To Join Baffert Stablemate Life Is Good In San Felipe Lineup

Bob Baffert will double-team his opposition with varsity Triple Crown contenders Life Is Good and Medina Spirit in next Saturday's Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. The San Felipe is a major steppingstone to the G1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3.

“Life Is Good will work tomorrow and Medina Spirit worked today (Saturday),” said the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer, who seeks to add to his record seven San Felipe victories.

Game neck winner in a three-horse photo of the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Jan. 30, Medina Spirit went six furlongs in a bullet 1:11.20, fastest of 11 drills at the distance, the average time of which was 1:12.89.

“He worked well and if he comes out of it in good order, the plan is to run in the San Felipe,” Baffert said of the Protonico colt. “I'll run two in there.”

Baffert's previous San Felipe wins were recorded by Prime Timber (1999), Point Given (2001), Preachinatthebar (2004), Pioneerof the Nile (2009), Dortmund (2015), Mastery (2017) and Authentic last year.

Hall of Fame member John Velazquez, who piloted Authentic to victory in the Kentucky Derby en route to 2020 Horse of the Year honors, will ride Medina Spirit for the first time, while Mike Smith retains the mount on undefeated G3 Sham Stakes winner Life Is Good, a colt by leading sire Into Mischief. Medina Spirit closed to within three-quarters of a length of Life Is Good to be second in the Sham.

Baffert also is considering Mastering for the Santa Anita Handicap next Saturday. The son of Street Sense would be making his stakes debut in the Big 'Cap, which Baffert has won on five occasions, with General Challenge (2000), Misremembered (2010) and three times with Game On Dude (2011,2013, 2014).

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