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Santa Anita Kicks Off 87th Winter/Spring Season of Racing Monday

Santa Anita Park will launch its annual winter/spring live racing season on Monday with a 11-race card featuring six stakes races, highlighted by the $300,000 GI Runhappy Malibu S., $300,000 GI American Oaks, and $300,000 GI La Brea S., the last three Grade Is of the year in the U.S.

Dubbed this season for the first time as the Classic Meet, racing at Santa Anita will be conducted on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule through Apr. 9, the exceptions being Monday, Jan. 2 for the New Year's Day holiday, Monday, Jan. 16 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Monday, Feb. 20 for Presidents' Day. After a brief respite in the spring, live racing will return for a 25-day meet Apr. 22, concluding June 18.

The first race on opening day is set for 11:00 a.m. PST. Then post time will be at noon daily through Jan. 8, at 12:30 p.m. PST through Mar. 12 and 1:00 p.m. PST for the remainder of the Classic Meet with the exception of big-race days.

A total of 93 stakes worth $17.5 million, including 10 Grade Is, are on tap during the 3 ½-month meeting. Led by the $750,000 million GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 8, the 2022-2023 stakes schedule is rich with GI Kentucky Derby prep races and coveted Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points. These important Triple Crown prep races are the GIII Sham S. on Jan. 8, which is worth 10 points to the winner; the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. on Feb. 5, also worth 10; and GII San Felipe S. on Mar. 4 which guarantees 50 Road to the Kentucky Derby points to the winner. Overall, 11 winners of the Santa Anita Derby–and 18 runners in California's final prep for the Run for the Roses–have gone on to stand in the winner's circle at Churchill Downs reserved for one horse a year in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, the most recent being 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy).

This year, the historic GI Santa Anita H. will be worth $500,000 and the 1 1/4-mile event has been scheduled for Mar. 4. It remains one of the handful of original stakes events contested each year since Santa Anita opened in 1935.

Zedan Racing's Grade I winner and TDN Rising Star Taiba (Gun Runner) will face eight others in the Malibu in his first start since a third-place finish in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Should the chestnut colt win, he would become the only 3-year-old male to win three Grade Is in 2022 and give trainer Bob Baffert a fifth Malibu winner, one shy of fellow Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. The $1.7 million FTFMAR 2-year-old purchase also won the Santa Anita Derby in his second start back in April.

Flightline (Tapit) won his first stakes race in last year's Malibu en-route to a likely 2022 Horse of the Year and champion older male Eclipse Awards.

Mandella will send out multiple Grade II winner Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) for the seven-furlong test, while former California-based trainer Wesley Ward will try to take advantage of the lucrative ship-and-win money with recent Keeneland allowance winner Nakatomi (Firing Line).

The Malibu has been carded as the 10th race on the card with a 3:30 p.m. PST post time.

Baffert will tighten the girth on four of eight for the La Brea in seeking a record ninth winner, including GII Zenyatta S. winner Midnight Memories (Mastery), GII Summertime Oaks heroine Under The Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) and Fun To Dream (Arrogate), who won the Betty Grable S. at Del Mar last month. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez shipped GIII Victory Ride S. winner Hot Peppers (Khozan) and her jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, to the Left Coast in what will be her first start in 2 1/2 months. Post time for the La Brea, which is the day's 8th race, is 2:30 p.m. PST.

Anchoring the day's card with a 4:11 p.m. PST post time is the American Oaks, which drew a field of 11 runners from coast to coast. Joining the local contingent set to line up will be two trained by East Coast-based Graham Motion, and one each from Brendan Walsh, Chad Brown and Shug McGaughey. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) debuts for Motion after her previous eight-race career in the hands of Christophe Clement. She most recently was a $3.45 million RNA at KEENOV and returns in the colors of celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

Pizza Bianca will join her new stablemate, GIII Valley View S. winner Sparkle Blue (Hard Spun), in the gate, while Walsh will for the first time send out G1 Bet365 Fillies Mile S. winner Mise En Scene (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) returning to action off a sixth-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. McGaughey shipped G2 Sands Point S. winner Skims (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to California with the Brown-trained Winter Memories S. winner and TDN Rising Star Salimah (Ire) (El Kabeir) for the 10-furlong turf test.

Other stakes on the Monday card include the $200,000 GIII Santa Anita Mathis Mile, which drew a field of seven turf milers including I'm A Gambler (Ire) (No Nay Never), who sold for a sales-topping $1,076,000 at TATIHA in October to Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal; the $200,000 GII San Gabriel S., a 1 1/8-mile turf test and traditional early prep for the historic GIII San Juan Capistrano S. at the end of the season; and the $200,000 GII San Antonio S., in years past a traditional prep for the Big 'Cap but more recently used as a stepping stone to both the $6 million G1 Dubai World Cup and $20 million G1 Saudi Cup. Last year's Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) will have European champion jockey Frankie Dettori back aboard in the 1 1/16-mile test for the first time since the pair teamed up for the win at Meydan nine months ago. Dettori, in his first and likely last winter in California before his retirement from the saddle at the end of 2023, is scheduled to ride five on the Monday card.

The post Santa Anita Kicks Off 87th Winter/Spring Season of Racing Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Baffert Duo Takes On Santa Ysabel

Bob Baffert brings a strong hand into Sunday's local prep for the GI Kentucky Oaks in Santa Anita's GIII Santa Ysabel S. Leading the charge is Eda (Munnings), last out winner of the GI Starlet S. Dec.4 where she defeated fellow Santa Ysabel contender Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince) by a gamhalf-length. She'll be looking for her fourth stakes victory in a row after also decisively winning both the Desi Arnaz S. and the Anoakia S. last fall.

Not to be outdone by her stablemate, Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) posted her own 3/4-length victory Jan. 8th in the GII Santa Ynez S. Though her recent efforts have all been sprinting, this half to Bodemeister has both the pedigree to cover the longer distance and the speed to overcome her far outside draw. Her speed figures have been on the rise since finishing a distant third to Eda in the Desi Arnaz S., including a career high 91 Beyer Speed Figure in her win in the Santa Ynez.

While she missed a planned start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies due to surgery to remove a bone chip in her left ankle, 'TDN Rising Star' Ain't Easy (Into Mischief) certainly showed more than enough class as a 2-year-old to earn a place in this field. Though she's been working consistently, she'll be tested coming off a five-month layoff with her last race being a 4 3/4-length victory in the GII Chandelier S. back Oct. 1 where she defeated stablemate Desert Dawn (Cupid), who was six-lengths back in third and also runs here.

The post Baffert Duo Takes On Santa Ysabel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bloodlines Presented By Caracaro: Under The Stars Further Solidifies A Proven Cross

Some things are too obvious to require heavy interpretation. The winner of the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes, Under the Stars, illustrates one of these. Three of the four stakes horses out of the Storm Cat mare Untouched Talent are by Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker (by Unbridled), Empire Maker's best stallion son, Pioneerof the Nile, and his son, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Untouched Talent's three stakes horses just mentioned are Grade 1 winner Bodemeister (Empire Maker), who won the Arkansas Derby, then finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness; Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile), winner of the G2 Santa Ynez on Jan. 8; and Himiko, a $1-million weanling by American Pharoah, who ran third in the Iowa Distaff last year as a 4-year-old.

From the evidence of three quality black-type performers by sires from Mr. Prospector's Fappiano line out of 11 foals, Untouched Talent matches well with the aptitude and physical quality of this line, perhaps with Mr. Prospector sires overall. The mare's fourth stakes horse is Fascinating, a daughter of Mr. Prospector's very successful son Smart Strike, who ran second in the G1 Del Mar Debutante and third in the G1 Chandelier.

In addition to the quality that Untouched Talent is sharing with her offspring, the mare had plenty of talent herself. She won two of her four starts, including the G3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar, where she also placed second in the G1 Del Mar Debutante. Shipped across the country to Keeneland, Untouched Talent was second in the Alcibiades.

Untouched Talent is one of two stakes winners and several racers of ability from the A.P. Indy mare Parade Queen, winner of a pair of stakes at the Grade 3 level. She produced Grade 3 winner Untouched Talent; listed stakes winner King Gulch (Gulch); Top Billing (Curlin), third in the G2 Fountain of Youth; Kydd Gloves (Dubai Millennium), winner in two of three starts and dam of Grade 1 winner She's a Julie (Elusive Quality); and Obay (Kingmambo), who was a champion in Saudi Arabia.

Parade Queen was the only stakes winner from her dam, Spanish Parade, a stakes winner by English Derby winner Roberto. But Spanish Parade also foaled a full sister to Parade Queen, the A.P. Indy mare Post Parade, who produced four stakes winners, two here in the States and another pair in Japan.

From this material alone, this is clearly a very solid pedigree: wall to wall with quality sires, producers, and performers.

Generation after generation of the tabulated pedigree indicates that the genetic ancestry of excellence is proving out on the racecourse in athleticism and competitive ability. Ricked up like this in a five-cross or six-cross pedigree, we can see the volume of production and performance that results in true depth of family for a Thoroughbred.

Depth of family is the concept that superior racers are developed through repeated layerings of high-class sires onto dam lines of similar athleticism. The overarching principle is that if each generation has shown its ability to race effectively or produce stock that does, a breeder doesn't have to fill holes or compensate for weaknesses.

Under the Stars, for example, is by a sire of proven classic importance, and the succeeding sires include winners of the Belmont Stakes and English Derby, the American and the English Triple Crowns.

English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky is the sire of the Nijit, fourth dam of Under the Stars. On the racetrack, Nijit placed second in a couple of minor stakes and was third in the G2 Cotillion. Her full brother Beaudelaire did somewhat better, winning four of seven starts, including the G2 Prix Maurice de Gheest.

They are out of a mare named Bitty Girl, who showed herself one of the best juvenile fillies of 1973 in England, when she won the Queen Mary, Lowther, and Molecomb Stakes. Her successes helped to make her sire Habitat (Sir Gaylord) the leading freshman sire of 1973 in England, as well as the leading sire of juveniles overall. Habitat's son Habat was the highweighted colt of the crop; Bitty Girl was co-highweight among the fillies.

Sent to America and retired to stud, Bitty Girl was covered by Nijinsky and set this sequence of excellence in motion.

The post Bloodlines Presented By Caracaro: Under The Stars Further Solidifies A Proven Cross appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Under The Stars Fends Off Awake At Midnyte To Win Santa Ynez

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Under The Stars proved best in Saturday's Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The 3-year-old filly by Pioneerof The Nile was sharp out of the gate and fended off a stretch challenge from Awake At Midnyte (9-2) to score by three-quarters of a length as the 4-5 favorite. Ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Bob Baffert, Under The Stars completed seven furlongs over the fast main track in 1:22.51.

Under The Stars wasn't the quickest out of the gate, but Prat allowed her to find her stride and she jumped up to take the lead through a first quarter in 22.26 seconds. Miss Mattie B took over in the middle of the track for a sixteenth of a mile, while Awake At Midnyte stalked those two on the outside of Big Shamrock.

Taking back her lead to mark a half-mile in :44.95, Under The Stars repelled the challenge of Miss Mattie B around the far turn. Awake At Midnyte moved up to take on the leader in the stretch run, and though appearing full of run was unable to pass Under The Stars.

Under The Stars pulled away in the final strides to win by three-quarters of a length. Awake At Midnyte finished second, while Miss Mattie B was third. The remaining order of finish was: Big Switch, Big Shamrock, and Mimajoon.

Bred in Kentucky by Eaton, Under The Stars is out of the G2-winning, G1-placed Storm Cat mare Untouched Talent. The sophomore filly is a half-sister to G1-winning millionaire Bodemeister, also trained by Baffert.

Under The Stars ran third in her debut at Santa Anita on Oct. 31, and returned to run third in the listed Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar two weeks later. The filly broke her maiden at Los Alamitos on Dec. 11, and the Santa Ynez was her fourth career start. With two wins and two thirds, Under The Stars has earned over $170,000.

The Santa Ynez offers Kentucky Oaks points on the 10-4-2-1 scale, but the Baffert-trained winner is not eligible for the points due to Churchill Downs' two-year ban of the Hall of Fame trainer. The updated Updated Road to the Kentucky Derby/Oaks Leaderboard is available here.

The post Under The Stars Fends Off Awake At Midnyte To Win Santa Ynez appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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