For those who imagine in horse racing’s future in California, there is no such thing as a higher place to appreciate it than opening day at Santa Anita. The day after Christmas is full of custom, anticipation and hope. The one factor lacking Thursday was snow on prime of the San Gabriel mountains that present some of the picturesque settings in sports activities.
Oh, yeah, there was additionally racing. The marquee identify was Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, working within the Grade 1 $300,000 Malibu Stakes. He didn’t convey his “A” recreation after an virtually 2,000-mile van journey from New Orleans, the place he was spending the winter.
He broke effectively within the seven-furlong filth contest however by no means appeared to get his footing and completed final within the six-horse race. Raging Torrent, who has gained 4 of seven races this yr, rallied to win. Stronghold was second and Creativeness was third.
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. stated Mystik Dan “broke good, but it just seemed like we were always chasing. I think shortening up took away from him. After the mile and a quarter [in the Derby], it is tough to go back to seven-eighths. The horse is fine.”
Raging Torrent is owned by Mark Davis and Nice Buddies Secure, which is headed by Craig Dado, a former advertising govt at Del Mar. The colt was educated by Doug O’Neill and ridden by Frankie Dettori.
“The horse was doing so well and threw such a great pose,” O’Neill stated. “We knew this is a perfect distance, so we were so optimistic. But in this sport, a lot of times you’re optimistic and you go home with a flat balloon.
“But he ran a race that we had dreamed of and just so happy and proud. We really thought going into it we were the best horse, the best distance. And just watching him day in, day out, he was training out of this world. So, yeah, he ran great.”
Mystik Dan was solely the fifth horse to attempt to win the Derby-Malibu double. The primary time it occurred was in 1954 when Decide gained each. In 1979, Spectacular Bid gained each races as did Ferdinand in 1986. Silver Allure was the final horse to run each races in 1997 and completed second within the Malibu.
There have been six graded stakes Thursday and some of the consequential was jockey Flavien Prat profitable the Grade 2 $200,000 Mathis Mile Stakes aboard King of Gosford. It was his 56th graded stakes win this yr, breaking the file of Corridor of Famer Jerry Bailey, who gained 55 in 2003.
The primary stakes was the Grade 2 $200,000 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes, previously often known as the San Antonio for horses 3 and up going 1-1/16 miles on the filth, and was gained by J B Strikes Again in principally a gate-to-wire efficiency.
It was considerably of an upset because the 3-year-old gelding paid $34.80 to win for O’Neill and jockey Antonio Fresu. J B Strikes Again is owned by the Buss household and “J B” stands for Jerry Buss, former proprietor of the Lakers. The identify of the steady? Purple Rein Racing.
Within the Grade 2 $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes, heavy favourite Johannes ($2.60 to win) rallied down the stretch to comfortably win by 1¼ lengths. Coach Tim Yakteen is hoping the win places the 4-year-old Nyquist colt in rivalry for the Eclipse Award for Greatest Older Male. Johannes has gained 5 of six races this yr, together with the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita. His solely loss was a second within the Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile.
J B Strikes Again, with jockey Antonio Fresu aboard, gained the inaugural working of the $200,000 Grade II Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Santa Anita on Thursday.
(Benoit Photograph through the Related Press)
“We originally thought about giving the horse a breather,” Yakteen stated. “He had such a strong campaign and he came out of the Breeders’ Cup so well. I talked to [the owners] and we said we would play it by ear and maybe head to the San Gabriel. Everything was near perfect in his last outing, so we came to the San Gabriel and now we will head to the Pegasus. In my heart, he is a true champion. I hope others view it that way.”
That is the ninetieth yr for Santa Anita and the monitor is in a battle for survival. As a result of California racing doesn’t get subsidies from playing, it’s at an enormous drawback in relation to purses. Horses working in California make about half of what they may in Kentucky, the place purses are supplemented by the Historic Horse Racing gaming system.
As well as, in relation to making a gap day full of horses from throughout the nation, Santa Anita is at an enormous drawback as a result of FedEx, the shipper of most horses in the US, stops all equine transport early in December so all its efforts can go to delivering vacation packages. It leaves trainers and house owners in a troublesome place. To run at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, they must ship the horse to the monitor in early December. With that comes all of the bills of getting an assistant coach and groom right here for nearly a month.
Lastly, the regularly shrinking foal crop has made race fields small, a turnoff for bettors who like full fields to supply extra choices. After the Stronach Group, proprietor of Santa Anita and Gulfstream, closed Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, a plan has been supplied whereby horses there can practice at Pleasanton and Santa Anita would pay for them to be vanned south for probably a fourth day of racing.
It’s unclear if that will probably be sufficient to entice Northern California horses to run within the south or if they’re higher shifting elsewhere. It’s additionally unclear if the summer time Truthful Circuit can survive if most of its horses have gone.
Regardless of all the issues, Bob Baffert, probably the most recognizable and arguably most profitable coach within the U.S., stays a bullish ambassador for California racing.
“The crowd, the families, you see everybody brings their children and families and a lot of people became racing fans by coming on opening day,” Baffert instructed FanDuel TV earlier than the stakes races. “You can’t beat the weather in California. We’ve got that beautiful day, great cards, got the Derby winner running here today, so it’s really good racing.
“I think they did a great job with the stakes racing they have, and they’re all competitive, tough races, so we’re looking forward to it.”
