santa anita | Horse Racing Free Tips

June 19 Insights: Pricey Uncle Mo Colt Debuts in Arcadia

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency
PRICEY UNCLE MO DEBUTS IN ARCADIA
9th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 8:12 p.m.
John Shirreffs unveils C R K Stable's $950,000 KEESEP acquisition CLUTCH HITTER (Uncle Mo) in this event. His unraced dam Bella Rafaela (Smart Strike) is a half-sister to GISW Twirling Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GSWs Dubai Sky (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Ethnic Dance (Tribal Rule). TJCIS PPs

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Weight Breaks for California Jockeys in Pipeline

Following through on a discussion started at last month's meeting, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) advanced Thursday a rule amendment designed to provide jockeys with weight breaks that are more in line with 21st Century human physiology.

By unanimous vote, the CHRB proposed Thoroughbred rule changes that would raise the minimum weight for established riders from 112 pounds to 114 pounds in overnight races (subject to apprentice allowances) and from 103 to 105 pounds in handicap and stakes races.

The board also advanced a separate amendment that would reduce the amount of overweight a Thoroughbred jockey can carry from seven pounds to five.

According to a staff analysis published in the CHRB's meeting packet, the overweight reduction change “is being done in conjunction with raising the weight minimums for jockeys by two pounds based on discussions with the Jockeys' Guild and racing secretaries.

“Both of these groups agreed that two pounds will help riders' health but not force the racing secretaries to change their average assigned weight too much. Therefore, if we are raising the minimum jockey weight two pounds, we need to drop the maximum allowable overweight two pounds so that we are not adding weight to horses which could introduce animal welfare concerns.”

For Quarter Horse races, “the minimum weight to be carried shall be 120 pounds, regardless of any otherwise permitted allowance,” according to the version of the amendment provided in the meeting packet.

A different rule change also discussed a month ago by the CHRB that would start apprentice allowances at seven pounds (instead of the current 10) is also in the pipeline.

Scott Chaney, the CHRB's executive director, said making amendments to that existing rule are “a lot more extensive” and will be brought before the board at a later date.

There was only minimal commissioner discussion and no members of the public commented on the weight issues. A final vote will take place at a future meeting after another opportunity for commenting.

Opening day sellout looms

In light of management-imposed attendance limitations for the first day of the season July 22, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) president Josh Rubinstein told the CHRB that, “We expect opening day to sell out later this week.”

Rubinstein said that Del Mar will be “significantly reducing general admission ticketing” for opening day only without mentioning a specific attendance cap number.

“Based on the feedback we received in 2021, especially when we hosted the Breeders' Cup, [we have] limited capacity for opening day this summer, which is traditionally our biggest day,” Rubinstein said. “We will continue to sell every box, every table, every seat. But we want to ensure [that] our core customers, the people that are with us week in and week out, have a quality experience. So we are capping opening day.”

Cal Expo back in action

The Thoroughbred meet at Cal Expo (aka Sacramento), which got cancelled the past two years along with the annual summer state fair there, will be back in action July 15-31, with racing on a Friday-through-Sunday basis.

In 2020 and '21, the fairgrounds property got turned into a COVID-19 testing and vaccination facility. Although night harness racing eventually restarted, with the most recent meet concluding in May, the Thoroughbred meets got moved to Pleasanton.

Larry Swartzlander, the executive director of the California Authority of Racing Fairs and the director of racing at Cal Expo, said the track is in “excellent shape,” with 300 horses already stabled on the grounds.

“It's been two years to finally get back to racing over there,” Swartzlander said. “The [California] Governor's Cup will be back–a $75,000 guaranteed race. The overnight purses are being raised approximately $200,000. We don't call it Ship & Win like Del Mar, but we've always had an out-of-state incentive to owners and trainers.”

The state fair operators used the downtime from not hosting a summer fair or Thoroughbred racing over the past two years to make some $18 million in improvements.

Although many of the infrastructural upgrades will not be noticeable (like miles of new underground gas lines, the drilling of a new well, new roofing on buildings), they are the types of long-term facility investments that will enable Cal Expo to conduct future race meets.
Horse people are, however, likely to notice a new restaurant that got built near the stabling area.

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Bolt d’Oro Colt Overcomes Early Trouble, Gets Up Late at Santa Anita

2nd-Santa Anita, $68,000, Msw, 6-12, 2yo, 5f, :59.77, ft, 1 length.

AGENCY (c, 2, Bolt d'Oro–Queen of May, by Bernardini) broke poorly and appeared beaten for much of the stretch, but came alive with a flying finish in the last sixteenth to get up and become the fourth winner for his freshman sire (by Medaglia d'Oro) Sunday at Santa Anita. A $100,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $400,000 OBS March 2-year-old after breezing a quarter-mile in :20 4/5, the dark bay showed five works over this track, most recently going five panels from the gate in 1:01 1/5 (16/42) June 5, and was made the 23-10 second choice. Bobbling a bit coming out of the stalls and spotting the field several lengths, he checked off heels in the opening furlong before finding his way into fifth behind a three-way pace duel through a :22.35 quarter. Angling into the five path turning for home, Agency started to find his best stride outside the sixteenth pole and swept past the tiring pace players late to score by a length. Longshot Crowning Gold (Harbor the Gold) edged fellow pace player Pacific States (West Coast) for second. The winner's dam, a half-sister to MGSW/GISP Tizaqueena (Tiznow), produced an Air Force Blue colt this term. Sales History: $100,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $400,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $40,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

O-Muir Hut Stables, LLC; B-Twin Creeks Farm (KY); T-Mark Glatt.

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Hopper Tops Affirmed Exacta for McCarthy at Santa Anita

While the 3-year-old picture was focused primarily in New York Saturday with the GI Belmont S. and the GI Woody Stephens S., Hopper (Declaration of War) threw his hat into the ring from the other coast with a facile victory in the GIII Affirmed S. at Santa Anita. It was a short field, but the exacta horses both hailed from the Sean McCarthy barn while the trifecta was filled out by three former Bob Baffert pupils.

When the stall doors flew, Hopper immediately hightailed it the front from the one post. He stayed on the inside, moving easily and getting the first quarter in :23.37. 'TDN Rising Star' and GSP Doppelganger (Into Mischief) drafted in second, just off his flank and to the outside as Hopper threw down a half in :46.74, still moving smoothly. Abel Cedillo roused him in the stretch, leaving Doppelganger far behind, and the dark bay drew clear to win by 5 1/4 lengths while stablemate High Connection (Connect) passed Doppelganger late. Hopper gave the impression of being out for a morning breeze, making it look easy as he dominated the field.

“I saw Juan [Hernandez] asking [High Connection] at about the three-and-a-half to get into contention and Doppelganger was moving at the same time, but Hopper was just cruising on the front end, so I had a pretty good feeling,” said McCarthy.

Owned by Lanni Bloodstock, Madaket Stables, and SF Racing, Hopper debuted for Baffert Feb. 25 in a six-furlong maiden special weight over this surface, getting bumped at the start and again just after the three-eighths pole. He didn't reappear again until May 7 after that troubled beginning, and by then he'd been transferred to the McCarthy barn. Going seven furlongs that day, he went wide to win by 2 1/4 lengths and register an 87 Beyer. The Affirmed was only his third career start. McCarthy has indicated both Hopper and the runner-up will return to Baffert when the Hall of Famer returns from his suspension next month.

Pedigree Notes:
War Front's European champion and MG1SW Declaration of War is the sire of Hopper and 32 other Northern Hemisphere-bred black-type winners. Among his 17 graded winners are Canadian champion Mr. Hustle, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Fire At Will, GISW Decorated Invader, French G1SW Olmedo (Fr), and MGISW Gufo, who was also third in the GI Manhattan S. Saturday. Declaration of War stood at Coolmore in Ireland, America, and Australia before moving to Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan ahead of the 2019 season.

Hopper is out of Irridescence (SAf), a champion and MG1SW in her native country. She traveled all over the world for major races, winning Hong Kong's G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup, and placing in the GI Beverly D. S. in the U.S., the G1 Falmouth S. in England, and the G2 Haafhd Jebel Hatta in Dubai. Hopper is her first stakes winner. She did not produce foals in 2020 or 2021 after being bred to Noble Mission (GB) both times, and was last bred to Air Force Blue. Her sire, the Nureyev stallion Caesour, has 16 stakes winners out of his daughters, including the 2020 GI Jaipur S. winner Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom), a mare who beat the boys more than once.

Saturday, Santa Anita
AFFIRMED S.-GIII, $98,000, Santa Anita, 6-11, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.83, ft.
1–HOPPER, 120, c, 3, by Declaration of War
1st Dam: Irridescence (Saf) (Ch. 3-year-old Filly-SAF, MG1SW-SAF, G1SW-HK,
SW & GSP-UAE, G1SP-Eng, GISP-USA, $1,578,910), by Caesour
2nd Dam: Meretricious (Saf), by Dancing Champ
3rd Dam: Capitoline (Saf), by Elevation (Saf)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($90,000 Ylg
'20 KEESEP). O-Lanni Bloodstock, Madaket Stables LLC and SF
Racing LLC; B-Green Lantern Stables, LLC (KY); T-Sean
McCarthy; J-Abel Cedillo. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0,
$100,700. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–High Connection, 120, c, 3, Connect–Forest Legend, by Forest
Camp. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($75,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP; $290,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR). O-HRH Prince
Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud; B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Sean
McCarthy. $20,000.
3–Doppelganger, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Twice the Lady, by
Quiet American. ($570,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). 'TDN Rising Star'.
O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC,
Robert E. Masterson, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge
Capital LLC, Catherine M. Donovan, Golconda Stable, Siena
Farm LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. $12,000.
Margins: 5 1/4, HF, 35. Odds: 3.30, 1.00, 1.40.
Also Ran: Pioneering Papa. Scratched: Fast Draw Munnings, Newgrange.
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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