The first full weekend of live racing action in 2023 features a pair of Kentucky Derby prep races – the Jerome Stakes from Aqueduct on Saturday and the Sham Stakes from Santa Anita on Sunday. Both races offer 10-4-3-2-1 qualifying points towards the Kentucky Derby to the top five finishers.
Saturday's $150,000 Jerome Stakes has drawn a field of eight including Arctic Arrogance, the 8-5 morning line favorite for trainer Linda Rice. The New York-bred son of Frosted, a homebred for Chester and Mary Broman, was last seen finishing second in the Remsen Stakes (G2) and will have Jose Lezcano aboard for his 3-year-old debut.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby will continue on Sunday at Santa Anita in the $100,000 Sham Stakes (G3) which features a field of six sophomores. Bob Baffert has won this race eight times and will saddle four of the six contenders, including graded stakes-placed Newgate with Frankie Dettori in the irons.
Saturday's Cal Cup Day at Santa Anita highlights the California breeding industry and the day's ten-race card is exclusive to California-bred or sired horses. The featured race is the $200,000 California Cup Derby which has drawn a field of seven including multiple stakes winner Giver Not a Taker, one of two horses in the race for trainer Peter Miller.
On the other side of the country, Saturday's eleven-race card at Gulfstream Park features a pair of stakes races – the $100,000 Dania Beach Stakes and the $100,000 Ginger Brew Stakes. In the Dania Beach Stakes, Major Dude will make his sophomore debut for trainer Todd Pletcher. The graded stakes winning juvenile was last seen finishing ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (GI) and will have Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard.
Saturday
3:16 P.M. – Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct (Kentucky Derby points race)
Chester and Mary Broman's New York homebred Arctic Arrogance will vie for his first open company stakes score in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome, a one-turn mile for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Arctic Arrogance arrives from a close runner-up finish behind Dubyuhnell in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track on December 3 for trainer Linda Rice. The son of Frosted raced on the inside and held a short advantage over a pressing Dubyuhnell until the stretch call, but could not fend off his foe down the lane and was defeated a half-length in a final time of 1:50.88. It was a further 11 1/4-lengths back to graded-stakes placed Tuskegee Airmen in third. The effort awarded Arctic Arrogance a field-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
Klaravich Stables' Neural Network will make his first start against winners after an impressive debut state-bred maiden score on November 13 sprinting seven furlongs over a muddy Big A main track. Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, the New York-bred son of Cloud Computing pounced from 2 1/2 lengths off the pace to take charge at the top of the lane and cruise home to a five-length victory.
Trainer Jimmy Ferraro will saddle New York-bred General Banker as he looks to double up on stakes scores after graduating in style last out in the $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way sprinting seven furlongs over a muddy and sealed Big A main track on December 17. Owned and bred by John Forma's Seacoast Thoroughbreds of New England, the son of leading New York sire Central Banker was a dominant winner of the Great White Way under Eric Cancel, closing from fourth-of-11 to post an 8 1/2-length victory that garnered an 83 Beyer.
Mr. Amore Stable's graded stakes-placed New York homebred Andiamo a Firenze will make his first outing since a narrow defeat to Acoustic Ave in the New York Breeders' Futurity on October 16 at Finger Lakes Racetrack. Trained by Kelly Breen, the son of Speightstown earned his lone graded placing when finishing a game third in the Grade 3 Sanford in July at Saratoga Race Course. He notched his first stakes victory in his next start with a pacesetting 5 1/2-length victory in the state-bred Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital on August 26 at the Spa. He is a three-quarter sibling to the Breen-trained Firenze Fire, who won nine graded stakes and over $2.7 million in earnings, highlighted by a Grade 1 triumph in the Champagne as a juvenile at Belmont.
6:00 P.M. – California Cup Classic at Santa Anita
A springboard to superstardom in 2014 for California Chrome, Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., may also have a star or two in the making as seven California-bred or sired sophomores go a mile and one sixteenth.
Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams' Passarando, trained by Steve Specht and fresh off a stirring come from behind win versus open company going a mile on synthetic Tapeta Dec. 3 in the Gold Rush Stakes at Golden Gate Fields, rates top billing on Saturday. A winner versus statebreds of the seven furlong Golden State Juvenile here three starts back, he'll be reunited with Umberto Rispoli, who was aboard for the Santa Anita win on Oct. 29.
Attentive to the pace throughout, Kirk and Judy Robison's homebred Giver Not a Taker was a game head winner of the statebred King Glorious Stakes going one mile at Los Alamitos Dec. 18 and rates a big look with Flavien Prat riding him back.
7:30 P.M. – Unusual Heat Turf Classic at Santa Anita
With seven-time stakes winner The Chosen Vron expected to run earlier on Saturday's Cal Cup program, trainer Dean Pederson's hard knocking Carmelita's Man heads a deep and competitive group of nine entrants going a mile and one eighth on grass in Santa Anita's $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic.
Owned by Larry and Ann Jett, Carmelita's Man will be reunited with Juan Hernandez, who was aboard for both of his statebred stakes wins last year. With an overall mark of 21-7-5-1, he has earnings of $432,670.
Sunday
5:30 P.M. – Grade 3 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita (Kentucky Oaks points race)
Fresh off a visually impressive win in an ungraded stakes Nov. 19, C R K Stable's Justique heads a field of six sophomore fillies going seven furlongs in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Originally scheduled to be run on New Year's Day, the Santa Ynez was re-drawn Thursday due to this past Sunday's races being cancelled. With Justique remaining the horse to beat, she'll face five rivals, all of whom were scheduled to run on Jan. 1.
Trained by John Shirreffs, Justique, in a come-from-behind performance reminiscent of the great Zenyatta, walked out of the gate in the seven furlong Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 19, was about 10 lengths off the lead at the half mile pole, cruised into contention while within herself around the far turn and won as she pleased by 2 ¼ lengths under a hand ride from Victor Espinoza.
Off slowly in all three of her starts, Justique will likely employ similar tactics as she takes on a competitive group of classmates that will include three Bob Baffert trainees.
6:30 P.M. – Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita (Kentucky Derby points race)
In what appears to be a David vs. Goliath scenario at Santa Anita, trainer Mark Glatt's Spun Intended will take on no less than four Bob Baffert Derby hopefuls among a field of six sophomores in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes over one mile at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
A troubled second in his 6 ½ furlong debut Oct. 30, Spun Intended was very impressive at the same distance Nov. 26 at Del Mar, galloping by 6 ½ lengths at odds of 4-5. Owned by Edge Racing and Muir Hut Stables, LLC, Spun Intended, a chestnut colt by Hard Spun out of the First Dude mare Flora Dora, sold for $125,000 out of the Ocala Breeders' March 2022 2-year-old in Training Sale.
A near gate to wire maiden winner, Spun Intended will show plenty of speed in his first try around two turns and figures to have plenty of front-running company in the Baffert brigade. Spun Intended will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Mike Smith.
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