Daniel’s Magic winning an allowance Oct. 25 at Santa Anita. (Benoit Photo)
• GIII Robert B. Lewis: 7 Nominees Work Saturday At Santa Anita
• Doncic The Horse Wins Same Day NBA Namesake Erupts For 73
Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan
ARCADIA, Calif.—The $100,000 Clockers’ Corner Stakes on the hillside turf course Sunday attracted a wide-open field eight older horses with Daniel’s Magic a lukewarm 3-1 favorite for trainer Eoin Harty.
Daniel’s Magic proved an affinity for the hill last fall when winning a pair of allowance events on the unique layout during the Santa Anita Autumn Meet. Most recently on Dec. 30, he made his graded-stakes debut in the GII Joe Hernandez, which was shifted off of the hill to 6 ½ furlongs out of Santa Anita’s turf chute. The 6-year-old Magician gelding finished a solid fourth at 19-1, beaten 2 ¼ lengths by Richard Mandella’s highly regarded Forbidden Kingdom.
The Clockers’ Corner is restricted to horses who have not won a graded stakes in 2023-24.
“He’s never ran a bad race for me. He just keeps getting incrementally better with each start,” Harty said Saturday. “We get a little class relief here and he’s coming into it in top form. We’re hoping for good things.”
Daniel’s Magic has lured the services of top rider Flavien Prat. Kazushi Kimura was aboard in the Joe Hernandez.
“He’s had some good riders on his back. But Flavien Prat is Flavien Prat. It never hurts to have him,” Harty said.
Daniel’s Magic is owned by S J S Stables and Lindy S. Diamond. He is 5-4-4 in 21 starts with $270,433 in earnings.
The 7-2 second choice on the morning line is the returning Mucho Del Oro for trainer Doug O’Neill. The 6-year-old Mucho Macho Man gelding has been sidelined since being claimed for $50,000 out of a dominant win down the hill last June. Mucho Del Oro is now owned by Purple Rein Racing.
“He’s such an honest horse,” O’Neill said of the claim. “And he loves this course.”
Mucho Del Oro is 3-for-4 on the hillside turf course. Overall, he sports a record of 8-1-0 in 15 starts with $275,100 in earnings. As a 4-year-old in 2022, he earned his only stakes victory in the Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile on turf at Turf Paradise.
O’Neill said Mucho Del Oro’s eight-month layoff was due to “being a little body sore.
“He just needed a break, so we gave him plenty of time off,” O’Neill added. “He’s come back really well. It’s a credit to the connections for being patient and we’re optimistic about Sunday.”
Mucho Del Oro will be ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at the Classic Meet entering Saturday.
The Clockers’ Corner goes as the seventh race on a nine-race card. Post time is set for 3:41 p.m. PT.
The Clockers’ Corner Field
1 Mucho Del Oro, Kyle Frey (7-2)
2 Johnny Podres, Kyle Frey (12-1)
3 Standing O, Antonio Fresu (8-1)
4 Daniel’s Magic, Flavien Prat (3-1)
5 Hamwood Flier, Victor Espinoza (4-1)
6 Irideo, Jeremy Laprida (12-1)
7 I’m A Gambler, Diego Herrera (5-1)
8 Sumter, Umberto Rispoli (4-1)
GIII Robert B. Lewis: 7 Nominees Work Saturday At Santa Anita
Seven 3-year-olds nominated to next Saturday’s GIII Robert B. Lewis, including a quartet for Bob Baffert, worked this morning at Santa Anita.
Drilling for Baffert were GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Wynstock (5f, 1:02.20), maiden winner Imagination (5f, 1:02.00), GII San Vicente runner-up Pilot Commander (5f, 59.60 seconds) and GI-placed Wine Me Up (5f, 1:00.00).
The 1 1/16-mile Robert B. Lewis serves as a prep for the GI Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles here April 6. It will be among six stakes run next weekend at Santa Anita.
Working for trainer Tim Yakteen was Moonlit Sonata, who went five furlongs in 1:00.00. By Malibu Moon, Moonlit Sonata won his debut going 6 ½ furlongs on dirt at Del Mar Nov. 25. He was subsequently fifth in the San Vicente going seven furlongs here Jan. 6.
Working for trainer Gary Mandella was Better Than Gold, who broke his maiden going a mile on dirt at Del Mar Dec. 2. The Nyquist colt drilled six furlongs in 1:14.40.
Working for trainer Doug O’Neill was Ace of Clubs, most recently fifth in the Los Alamitos Futurity. The Mor Spirit colt went five furlongs in 59.80 seconds, which was the ninth-fastest of 81 moves at the distance.
Entries for the Robert B. Lewis will be accepted on Wednesday. Next Saturday’s supporting stakes are the GII Santa Monica for fillies and mares at seven furlongs on dirt, GIII Thunder Road for older horses at a mile on turf and GIII Megahertz for older fillies and mares at a mile on turf.
Set for next Sunday at Santa Anita is the GIII Las Virgenes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on dirt and GIII San Marcos for older horses at 1 ½ miles on turf.
Doncic The Horse Wins Same Day NBA Namesake Erupts For 73
The worlds of sports collided Friday with a Doncic double. Hours after Doncic the horse won for the third-consecutive time in Friday’s sixth race at Santa Anita, namesake and NBA superstar Luka Doncic made league history by scoring 73 points for the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic’s scoring blitz in a 148-143 win over the Atlanta Hawks tied for the fourth-most points ever scored in a single NBA game. Wilt Chamberlin, who holds the record with 100 points in a game set in 1962, also scored 73 points on two separate occasions that same season. The only other player to score exactly 73 points in a game was David Thompson in 1978.
Other than the 100-point record, only Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006 and Chamberlin’s 78-point game in 1961 surpasses Doncic’s total on Friday.
Doncic the horse overcame a troubled start to win by a half-length Friday when running for a $50,000 tag in an optional claimer going six furlongs on turf. Joel Rosario was aboard for the victory.
Trained by Vladimi Cerin, Doncic now has five wins in 16 starts and $167,020 in earnings. He is owned by David and Holly Wilson and Peerenboom Racing. The 6-year-old Cairo Prince horse previously won a starter allowance going 6 ½ furlongs on turf in June and a $50,000 claimer at six furlongs on turf Jan. 5, both at Santa Anita. All three victories came under different jockeys.
FINISH LINES_________________
It was a welcome return to the saddle for Edwin Maldonado Friday. After missing nearly three weeks with a shoulder injury, Maldonado won with his first mount back aboard Lamporghini for Doug O’Neill ($3.80) in the opener. He has four rides on Saturday including the featured GII San Pasqual aboard Two Rivers Over, also for O’Neill…
Northern California-based trainer Brendan Galvin won his first-ever race at Santa Anita Friday . Galvin, who has 43 career victories to his credit, scored in the fourth race with Dazzle The Command ($20) under Hall of Famer Mike Smith…
The wealth was spread in the Santa Anita jockey’s room Friday. On an eight-race program, eight different riders reached the winner’s circle. Smith’s win aboard Dazzle The Command was his first at the current Classic Meet…
Trainer Mark Glatt bagged a pair of wins Friday and now leads the trainer’s standings with 13 wins at the stand, two more than runner-up Phil D’Amato…Santa Anita Wagering Ambassador Howard Abrams will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Sunday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:20 a.m. PT…
GOOD NEWS!! Jay Cohen, recovering at home from back surgery, reports he will be back, trumpet in-hand, a week from Sunday, Feb. 4.
