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Big City Lights scores stakes win #5 in the California Cup Sprint (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif. – Big City Lights collected his fifth stakes win Saturday when romping to a 7 3/4-length victory in the $125,000 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint going six furlongs at Santa Anita.
Flavien Prat rode Big City Lights in place of Kazushi Kimura, who took off all mounts Saturday after being injured on Thursday. Big City Lights was up near the pace down the backstretch, took command at the quarter pole and extended his lead all the way to the wire. He won in a time of 1:09.46 following fractions of 22.13, 44.94 and 57.15 seconds.
“He’s not the quickest out of the gate but after you get him into his rhythm, he has some speed and he carried it very well” Prat said. “I thought today was a very good performance on his part.”
Trained by Richard Mandella, Big City Lights paid $2.20 and $2.10. There was no show wagering following the scratch of Geezer. Clovisconnection, ridden by William Antongeorgi III for trainer Blaine Wright, rallied to be second. He paid $2.40 to place. Smiling Beast, ridden by Armando Ayuso for trainer Brian Koriner, settled for third after setting the early pace.
Big City Lights is owned by William R. Peeples. The 6-year-old horse by Mr. Big improved to 13: 7-4-1 with $578,420 in earnings. Last year, Big City Lights won the GIII Palos Verdes at Santa Anita and Cary Grant Stakes for statebreds at Del Mar. In 2022 he won the Real Good Deal Stakes for statebreds at Del Mar and as a 2-year-old in 2022 won the Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita in his second career start.
“He’s a beautiful horse,” Mandella said. “He has a classy head, great balance. Just a classy looking horse.”
