Brought to you by Tropical Racing
Arcangelo. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
• Trainer Ortiz Sr. Breaks Santa Anita Maiden With 2 Wins Saturday
• Single Winning Pick 6 Ticket Returns $85,506 Saturday
• Jockey Ayuso Has First Two-Win Day At Santa Anita
Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan
ARCADIA, Calif.—Arcangelo, the top-rated contender for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, worked for the second time here Sunday with trainer Jena Antonucci in from New York to observe.
Hitting the main track shortly after 9 a.m., Arcangelo worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 under exercise rider Robert Mallari. Antonucci clocked Arcangelo’s final furlong in under 12 seconds. He galloped-out an extra two furlongs, which Antonucci clocked in “13 seconds and change” for each furlong.
“It was a serious work. A pretty work,” Antonucci said immediately after the drill. “I wanted sub-12 seconds the final furlong, which he gave me. I think I’m pretty spot-on with that. That’s what he’ll need to do on race day.”
To see Arcangelo’s work from Antonucci’s eye on X click here. (X will no longer let us embed)
Ten days ago at Santa Anita, Arcangelo had his first local work when going five furlongs in 1:02.20. Antonucci said the 3-year-old ridgling by Arrogate will have one more work about 10 days out from the 1 1/4-mile Classic.
“We’ll increase the pace of his gallops and just continue to do what we’re doing,” the trainer added. “For his final work we’ll see if we need to tighten something here or there or if he needs more of a lung-opener.”
In the Classic, Arcangelo will be facing older horses for the first time. His status as the likely favorite is based off victories in the third leg of the Triple Crown, the 1 ½- mile Belmont Stakes June 10, followed by a victory in the Grade I Travers going 1 ¼ miles at Saratoga Aug. 26.
With the Belmont win, Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race. In less than three weeks, she will try and become just the second female trainer to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Kathy Ritvo, now retired from training, won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita with Mucho Macho Man.
“We’re just here doing what we do,” Antonucci said of her first try at a Breeders’ Cup. “I’m really a huge stay-in-the-moment kind of person. We still have a lot of work to do between now and race day. We’re just going to stay focused on that. If and when we’re blessed to be there, then we’ll lean into it and enjoy the moment.”
A $35,000 auction buy as a yearling, Arcangelo is campaigned by Blue Rose Farm. He lost his first two starts at Gulfstream Park this past winter but has since reeled off four straight victories to push his earnings $1,754,900. After graduating March 18 at Gulfstream going a one-turn mile, and immediately ahead of his Belmont victory, Arcangelo stepped up and won the GIII Peter Pan by a head going 1 1/8 miles at Belmont Park.
Also working Sunday for potential starts in the Breeders’ Cup were Adare Manor for Bob Baffert, Tamara for trainer Richard Mandella and Gold Phoenix for trainer Phil D’Amato. Adare Manor, pointed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 4, went three furlongs in 36.60 seconds. It was her first work since winning the GII Zenyatta here Oct. 1.
Tamara, the expected favorite for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 3, went five furlongs in 1:00.20. It was her third work since winning the GI Del Mar Debutante going seven furlongs on Sept. 9.
Gold Phoenix, who is possible for the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Nov. 4, worked five furlongs on the training track in 1:00.20. It was his first work since a disappointing fifth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in the GII John Henry Turf Championship here Oct. 1.
Trainer Ortiz Sr. Breaks Santa Anita Maiden With 2 Wins Saturday
It was a day to remember Saturday at Santa Anita for veteran trainer Manuel Ortiz Sr., a longtime stalwart at Turf Paradise.
Ortiz, who was a jockey for more than two decades before becoming a trainer in 1988, won his first two races ever at Santa Anita. He scored with Caisson ($10.80) in the ninth, a starter allowance at a mile on turf, and Departure ($33.20) in the 11th and final, a $25,000 claimer at a mile on turf.
“It was great,” Ortiz said from the Santa Anita grandstand Sunday morning. “We started a horse earlier on the card and she didn’t run at all. I thought, this isn’t going to be a good day.”
After Saturday, Ortiz has 569 career wins from 3,874 starters with the vast majority coming at Turf Paradise. He has had a small, full-time presence at Santa Anita “for the past four or five years,” Ortiz said. He currently has 12 horses in his Santa Anita barn.
For Ortiz’s operation, this is a time of transition. It was announced earlier this year Turf Paradise would cease racing. Recently, there has been talk of a buyer for the Phoenix-area track who will keep racing going at the facility.
Ortiz indicated he’ll believe it when he sees it. The current owner of Turf Paradise, Jerry Simms, initially said the property was being sold to a developer and racing would end at Turf Paradise. That pending transaction ultimately fell through. Now, Simms says he has a buyer lined up that wants to renovate the property and continue to racing.
“I’m not buying it. How can you with his track record?” Ortiz said of Simms. “It has put a lot of people out of business out there. A lot of the farms are going under. They have a sale coming up later this month, but who’s going to buy? It’s tough for folks out there.”
Ortiz added several horses he trained at Turf Paradise have since been relocated to Canada by owners who are based there.
Single Winning Pick 6 Ticket Returns $85,506 Saturday At Santa Anita
For the second time in as many race days, there was a single winning ticket Saturday in the $1 Pick 6 at Santa Anita.
With longshot Departure winning the nightcap and returning $33.20, the Pick 6 paid $85,506.90. In addition, 32 tickets with five of six winners returned $1,145.10 as a consolation payout.
Handle for Saturday’s Pick 6 was $160,055. The lone perfect ticket was purchased for $288 through Xpressbet. The other winners in the sequence starting with the first leg were Take Action ($29.60), Rose Maddox ($8.40), A New Peace ($6.40), Caisson ($10.80) and Arrowthegreat ($8.00).
Sunday’s Pick 6 begins with the sixth race at approximately 3 p.m. Pacific. The sequence averages 8.5 starters per race before scratches.
FINISH LINES______________________
Jockey Armando Ayuso, a top rider at Golden Gate who relocated to Southern California this summer, had his first two-win day Saturday at Santa Anita. Ayuso won the eighth race with A New Peace ($6.40) for trainer Mike Puype and the ninth with Caisson ($10.80) for trainer Manuel Ortiz Sr…
Seven-pound apprentice J.G. Torrealba got his second win of the meet when guiding comebacker Take Action ($29.60) to victory in Saturday’s sixth race for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella…
On-track fans next Friday will receive free parking and admission, $3 beers and $5 margaritas
