British Isles cruises to victory in the G1 Big Cap, Benoit Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA — British Isles surged to the lead just past the quarter pole and drew off in the stretch to earn his biggest career victory in the Grade I, $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel Saturday at Santa Anita.
British Isles (7-1), trained by Richard Baltas, won by 4 lengths under Diego Herrera. Vodka Vodka (6-1), ridden by Kent Desormeaux for trainer Aggie Ordonez, was second followed by Getaway Car (3-1) and 3-5 favorite Just a Touch.
For Baltas, this was his second time winning the 1 ?-mile Big Cap. He also won it in 2021 with Idol. The Big Cap victory was the first Grade I win for Herrera in a Thoroughbred race. A 22-year-old native of nearby Inglewood, Herrera got his start in racing as a quarter-horse jockey at Los Alamitos.
“I don’t even have any words, it is just such a blessing,” Herrera said. “Thank God that everything came together today.”
A 5-year-old gelding by Justify, British Isles is owned by Slam Dunk Racing; Deborah A. Baltas, Richard’s wife; and Cynthia McClanahan. He won in a time of 2:05.17 following fractions of 22.86, 46.63, 1:11.31 and 1:36.72 set by Midnight Mammoth (8-1)
“I feel great,” Richard Baltas said. “I was a little worried around the turn. Diego did a great job with the horse. I thought around the turn he was asking him and I didn’t know if he had anything left, then suddenly, he burst away. I was ecstatic.” British Isles improved to 23: 3-6-4 with $371,826 in earnings. He previously was fifth in the GI Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park. Prior to that, British Isles was narrowly beaten by Grade I Winner Nevada Beach in the GIII Native Diver at Del Mar in November.
British Isles paid $16.40, $6.00 and $4.20. Vodka Vodka returned $5.60 and $4.00. Getaway Car, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Bob Baffert, paid $3.20.
Attendance on Big Cap Day at Santa Anita was 19,112, the largest since 2019.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m. PT. After multiple longshot won on Saturday’s program, there will be a $126,906 carryover in the $2 Pick Six. It starts with the fourth race at 2:36 p.m.
GRADE I, SANTA ANITA HANDICAP QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
DIEGO HERRERA, BRITISH ISLES, WINNER: “I don’t even have any words, it is just such a blessing. Thank God that everything came together today. Thank Richie, thank my agent and Nick Cosato. We have a great team and Richie is one hell of a trainer. I’m just very grateful.”
JUAN HERNANDEZ, GETAWAY CAR, THIRD: “We had a good trip. Everything was fine. He runs hard and shows up every time. Hopefully he will improve from here.”
FLORENT GEROUX, JUST A TOUCH, FOURTH: “He’s a funny horse. I’m not surprised, this has happened more than once. I was following along on the rail and we had plenty of space. I saw Diego and British Isles and they were traveling a lot better than we were on the back side. I have no excuses.”
TRAINER QUOTES
RICHARD BALTAS, BRITISH ISLES, WINNER: “I feel great. I was a little worried around the turn. Diego did a great job with this horse. I thought around the turn he was asking him and I didn’t know if we had anything left, then suddenly, he burst away. I was ecstatic. It meant a lot to the owners and it meant a lot to Diego, his first Grade I win.”
NOTES: The winning owner is Slam Dunk Racing, Baltas or McClanahan.
